An economic analyst has launched scathing attacks on government officials for giving deaf ears to the way the Lebanese and other foreign merchants are strangulating the Liberian economy.

In an article entitled, "Colonized from Within: The Liberian-Lebanese Dichotomy," published in today's edition of the New Democrat, Mr Wesley Harmon of the Center for Strategic Studies, warned that the cycle of poverty in Liberia will continue unabated if nothing is done to stem the flow of capital and transfer the control of the economy to Liberians.

"Lebanese and other foreign merchants are in complete control of the Liberian economy and their continued grip on the economy is fuelled in large part by funds from successive Liberian governments. "Except for the current trend seen in the last six years where Chinese contractors have muscled in on the infrastructure sector of the Liberian economy, Lebanese merchants enjoy carte blanche in dictating recipients of government contracts in all sectors of Liberia's economy. The result is that Liberian businessmen and women are unable to compete in their own economy for the large contracts that have the propensity to lift themselves and other Liberians out of poverty."

According to him, various socio-economic issues affecting average Liberians "are given deaf ears by an administration and legislature that have become callous, complacent, and imbued with a sense of their own importance. Their intransigence is founded on the fact that their children and grandchildren do not attend schools in Liberia. They live in America and other First World countries receiving millions of dollars in remittances from parents and grandparents in the employ of the Liberian government as ministers, directors, board chairmen, etc.

"When President Johnson-Sirleaf, one of her children or other family members get ill they board an aircraft and travel to the U.S., Lebanon, South Africa or other exotic locations for medical treatment. "When a minister gets a headache, has a heart attack or something life-threatening, they travel to Ghana or to the U.S. for immediate treatment, spending huge amounts of taxpayers' funds, and leaving ordinary Liberians to die of minor illnesses at the poorly-run JFK, Redemption and other useless hospitals in Liberia."

Mr Harmon said the monies remitted offshore by Liberian government officials to sustain families who ought to be resident in Liberia, and for medical trips for Liberian government officials should be invested in Liberian medical and educational institutions to ensure they are brought up to standards.

He said Liberia cannot afford huge capital outflows from its struggling economy because there will be nothing left for real development and wealth formation by Liberians. "In short there will be no money left in the economy to support basic services. Redemption and John F. Kennedy Hospitals will continue to be a place where Liberians go to die due to non-existence of basic diagnostic equipment. Liberia's education system will continue to be the laughing stock of the entire West African Sub-region due to lack of political will to correct the ills destroying the hopes of millions of Liberians.

Calling on fellow Liberians to wake up and redeem their country from the Lebanese, Mr Harmon said, "No matter how many rosy speeches the president delivers to her friends in the international community everyday Liberians will continue to be spectators to their government officials riding $100,000.00 Toyota Land Cruisers and equally expensive luxury Nissan Patrols, while they are unable to educate their children in a broken education system. "No matter how many roads are built by foreign contractors like CHICO, CICO and Shawki F. Fawaz Construction Companies, except for the 2 percent privileged, Liberians will not have the resources to purchase cars to drive on the roads and will remain third class citizens in their own country."