Our neighbor

L$182.6281/US$1.00 Meanwhile in Sierra Leone. After eleven months in office, the new Sierra Leonean president has put measures in place to encourage a boost in agriculture. They have also implemented a central govenment account for the collection of revenue. These measures have gained approval from the IMF and World Bank. Things are looking up for our neighbors, for us, not so much. We are concentrating on building mansions for ourselves.

One, two, three

L$172.5305/US$1.00 One, two, three.

In this day and age

L$177.8284/US$1.00 In this day and age we are still writing checks? An employee of the Revenue Authority has managed to cash a check for USD 450 000 and make off with the amount. Are we surprised?

New money, old problem.

L$170.1264/US$1.00 and counting. Our Finance minister has proclaimed that in order to solve our currency problem we will have to change our currency. Changing the currency will do nothing but make it worse, and it will not solve the real issue. We import almost everything that is consumed in our country. For this the importers need foreign exchange (US dollars). If the importer cannot get a hold of US dollars, they can´t import goods and go out of business. So, to insure a steady supply of US dollars, the price will continue to increase. In order to counter this, you have to either stop importing all your goods and producing your own goods or even begin to export your goods for foreign exchange. This is simple economics. There is nothing that the government can do about this except encourage people to produce goods to export.

Freedom of speech

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please listen up. The cost of living gets so high, the rich and poor, they start to cry. Now that we must get strong, they say oh, what a tribulation. Them belly full but we hungry. A pot has cooked but the yield´s not nuff. L$166.0221/US$1.00 Today the minister of State for Presidential Affairs has sued the host of the Costa show!! Can you imagine.

Pro Poor?

Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor!Pro Poor! By repeatedly saying something does not make it true. By repeatedly saying something does not make it good. By repeatedly saying something does not make it legitimate. By repeatedly saying something does not make it proper. Go figure.

Unaccounted for but not hidden

Since the beginning of time, in this glourious land of Liberty, whenever someone happens upon any kind of funds that they were not previously in pocession of, they will build a house. We have seen it throughout the years. It it always there for everyone to see. So, those in the know will say that there is nothing wrong with that. I respectfully disagree. Unfortunately, impunity here is a well guarded tradition. This is usually also the case with these same people, who have not even declared their assets in the first place.

Aint you see it ehn!

So my friends "The time has come, let´s raid the rules and have som fun." Exactly what we were expecting has now come to pass. No one can tell me that they are surprised. There is no surprise there at all. As George Orwell so pleasantly put it, "Some animals are more equal than other animals." And that it what we are now seeing. Press freedom. The first casualty in the Weah regime is now a fact. As Donald Trump would put intricately describe it, "Sad!"

The emperors new clothes

Apparently there is going to be a New Monrovia. In the middle of a swamp. When actually viewing the footage of the excursion, I was reminded of the fable about "The emperor without clothes". The very fact that you needed to wear knee high rain boots to be on the expedition in the middle of the dry season said it all. To see all these guys in suits, ties and loafers ushering along our leader in this environment. Either someone owns this wasteland and is looking to make a killing or someone just thought it was a perfect photo opportunity for some "Pro-poor" propaganda. My question remains, "How will this ever benefit Liberia?"

Banana republic

If only we could once again become a banana republic. That would be a great step up from what we have become. The problem is that a banana republic produces and exports bananas for foreign exchange. We will never get this far. We do not produce anything that is worthwile to export, so we have to import everything. We import everything that we wear, eat, drink, communicate with. Ladies and gentlemen, we import eggs, orange juice, rice, meat, chicken, fish, beer. The list goes on and on. If you can buy it, it is imported. All these items are imported by buying them abroad with the US Dollar. You cannot take Liberian dollars abroad to change into other currencies. Anybody who is importing stuff to sell here in Liberia has to pay for it with US dollars. If they cannot get US dollars, they cannot replenish their stock. If they cannot buy more goods to sell, they will evetually have to close their businesses. This constant demand from importers to aquire US Dollars is what is driving up the demand for the US Dollar. The more something is in demand, the higher the price of it. This simple economics, people. The Liberian dollar will continue to depreciate as long as this continues. There is nothing anyone in goverment can do about this. Not imediately anyway. In order to curb the increasing demand for the US Dollar, we have to change our ways. You heard that? We have to change our ways. We have to encourage local farmers to produce what we eat. We have to buy local products. If we make it profitable for farmers to produce say eggs or tomatoes, they can concentrate and scale up production. This will take care of all the US Dollars being spent to import food. Even more ideally, these farmers might produce more than needed, which could be exported. We also have to find ways to produce goods that could be exported. We need to attract foreign investors to open factories here. We have to find ways to add value to local produce in a way that the quality is of international standard. We have to lift our eyes above the pettiness that usually consumes us. We have to rise above the fact that everyone wants a job in government. We have to find things that we are good at, and exploit them. We have to stop being traders and become innovators. Until next time.

Election day

And it came to pass... When the hurlyburly's done, When the battle's lost and won. That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

All of us

What ever you say. I will say, "All of us!" to it. Who is responsible for our shortcomings? Who will benefit if we manage to overcome them? Whose responsiblity is it to condemn corruption? Who does this affect? Enough of the "It was not me attitude!" It is too easy to make excuses and blame eveyone else. Remember this. All of us.

Cutting off the snake´s head

When we were growing up, once in a while, someone would see a poisonous snake lurking on the ground or in a tree. The general reaction to this would usually have everyone rushing to find long sticks to beat the snake to death. When this is done, usually someone cuts off its head and buries it very deeply. So that noone can mistakenly step on it. This is the same attitude we have to have with Ebola. Cut off its head. Do not play with it!

This dry season...

We all have basic needs and necessities. Within these, there is a business for everyone. You do not have to wait for a government job to come home. That frame of mind is what is wrong with us. You do not have to get employment with anybody just to come home. No. That is the cowardly way to think. You know how Liberia is and you know what you are able to do. Keeping that in mind, it is time to explore the thousands of business opportunities that are here. First of all, you need somewhere affordable to live. It is up to you what comforts you need in your life, but remember, you used to live here before. Once you can check housing off your list, I would recommend that you at least come here and check out the possiblities for yourself. My own passion is food, because everyones needs food. Go to the markets and talk to the women who are selling foodstuffs. Find out the local prices of things that are sold there. Find out what is locally grown and what is imported. Go to the shops and see what is sold by the foreign merchants. By finding out the economics of various products availiable you can determine the demand that is there. From this info you can start to make a basic business plan. Your next step is to find land to buy/lease. Based on the size of your capital, you make the appropriate investments in land, tools, machinery, labour and start to grow whatever it is that you found that is demanded by the local market. There are best-practice sources for just about everything on the net. There are even non-govermental organisations here that teach the necessities in the farming of various crops. Use these. Once you get started, you have to start planning about how you are going to harvest. What do you need to do to get your goods to market as fast as possible. Is there anyway to add more value to what you are growing. Can you refrigerate, freeze, preserve, dry, cure,salt your produce or could you sell it to a wholesaler or directly to the market women or in your own shops. As you can see, the limit is your own imagination. Things we import a lot of: Meat Eggs Poultry Tomatoes Pepper Orange juice Do not forget: Separate your private money from your business money.

Change? We do not seem to be capable.

Recent events have now finalised Robert Sirleaf´s chairmanship at the National Oil Company. Without detailed knowledge and the normal jealous rants based on wild assumptions by every member of our society, be it at home or abroad. With us, we are so ignorant that people voicing private suspicions of others tend to steer our lives. You can see it wherever you go, be it in the Hentay shops or on the beaches. It is so important to some people that sometimes there is no wonder we will never prosper. They spend all their energy expelling loads of hot air when they instead could have been prosperous members of society, running their own businesses. Here is my message to you: Stop projecting your own secret feelings on other people. All you are doing is showing us what you would have done in a similar position. That is probably the reason the likes of you will remain over there, dwelling in hatred and envy. You are all angry at him because he didn´t do what you would have done. That makes him better than you and we can´t have that. No. We have to make sure that those few with genuine integrity come down to our own level of wickedness and greediness. Well, we are all Liberians, and the above described feelings are widespead amongst us. So, purely statically a lot of appointees and other civil servants will harbour these thoughts. And even continue to cross the line of corruption.

There is a reason for everything

So so noise. The situation with corruption is so bad in our country that our president didn´t trust anyone but her son to put the framework of Liberia´s future income into proper working order. The ink didn´t even dry on the paper, before you all were yelling bloody murder for a friendly handshake. When you go look, funny newspaper stories start to surface where this same gentleman is supposed to be worth 10 times our national budget and that he is a faggot. (Nice journalism by the way) Nobody, or let me say somebody, didn´t want this man`s scrutiny on the board of NOCAL for a very special reason. You can call Ellen a lot of things, that is your prerogative but you can never accuse her of being stupid. Ellen knows her people better than you may think. As soon as you hint the chance of money to be made you see all kinds of fly to excrement behavior in our society. Not even the strongest insect repellant can get rid of those flies. The only way is to let one big spider mind the candy. Anyway, none of the biggest noise causers on that side understand any of this, but you will continue to rant as if your lives depend on it. That also is your prerogative. But remember, it is all just hot humid air coming out, signifying nothing.

Power drunk

In the recent standoff between the head of the Liberian National Police and the legislature, you start to see what kind of scum that we voted into power. The mindset of these elected individuals is at the least worrying, at most embarrasing. I guess that every individual has the right to try to boost their own self esteem, but this is crazy. Apparently, the laws that they make do not apply to them. Again, I am much reminded of Orwells "Animal Farm" where in the end the fat pigs, just liberated from wallowing in mud and their own excrement proclaim that "some animals are more equal than others". If you listen to these selfproclaimed divas that strut around all day doing nothing other than making a pile of noise, the term that comes mind is "wannabe". "The Senate on Wednesday summoned the police chief to show cause why he should not be held in contempt". Taste this sentence. The police is trying to do their job, traffic congestion is a problem that affects everyone, but our elected officials feel that traffic regulations do not apply to them. When this is pointed out to them they start acting like the kindergarden brotherhood that they are and choose to waste the Police Chiefs time. Next time, know who you vote for.

Responsible journalism

After month of idleness from my part, it is time to untie my tongue and contribute once again towards trying to make our beautiful country a better place. Let me start by saying that over the years, FrontPage Africa has done a lot to bring issues of interest to the nation to the public debate. They have done so with bravour. This should be the main goal of a newspaper, to bring to light issues concerning all of us. And believe me they are debated. However, during these years, I have always thought that the paper all too often relies on single, unconfirmed reports-rumours-informers, often without contacting the accused party. These often unconfirmed sources of information are then turned into very biased stories, where the editorial staff never checks their information to confirm authenticity. In Liberian english, we call it he say, she say. Someone goes to a journalist, makes an accusation of some sort. The journalist should then be all about trying to confirm this statement. Not in Liberia. Here, we write the story based on that statement, and run with it. It is so bad that based on one daily running an unconfirmed story, all the other local dailies jump on the same unconfirmed, unbalanced story the next day, often repeating it and giving the first daily as the source. All the while, the accused party has not been heard. As a result, 9 time out of 10, the accused party has to call a pressconference to publicly refute the statement and give the correct facts according to them. I do not know about you, but if it ever happened to me, I would want revenge too. But our so-called journalists are so itchy to write their one-sided stories that many times they would not dare to check their facts; maybe they fear that there may not even be a story if they start real investigative work. So they act as if they are dealing with facts, and the unknowing reader is left with what he/she thinks are facts. Today, this type of so-called journalism has turned around and bitten a so-called journalist in the ass. And now they want us to feel sorry for him. If I know my people correctly, the editor will be released eventually. Will he have learned a lesson? I doubt it. It will be repeated.

Liberia is a melting pot

Tribal overland migrations of hunter/gathering peoples from central/eastern Africa. Then you have the seafaring/fishing settlements along our coasts. Then you have the Portugese trading posts. Then you have the slaving factories. Into this mix, you throw in those returning from the Americas. Ship upon ship of emacipated newly captured slaves from the Congo basin, all dumped in Monrovia and resettled. Then you have the German traders. Later, you mix in the Lebanese traders. You mix all this together, and you get what is Liberia today. These are the facts. This is what has happened. This is our history. We need to acknowledge this and move on. We don´t have time for a "my-religion-is-better-than-your-religion" or "we-were-here-first" debate. This reminds me of George Orwells "Animal Farm" where the pigs declare that some animals are more equal that others, and start feasting in the farmhouse while the other animals are excluded and forced to watch through the windows. Wake up now.

Greed

What is greed? Greed is something that will make your eyes look inwards and see only what is you. It will make you to yearn for something that you only want for yourself, no matter the cost. It will make you to treat those around you in any way, as long as you satisfy your own greed. This feeling has throughout the ages made reasonable men into insatiable monsters, who would not even sit back and reflect upon their own actions and see that no matter how much they satisfied their greed, it would only grow. In the end, that same greed will be their downfall. Look around, and check out what greed has done to our world. Devastating chaos. But in the end, where are all the greedy men? In their graves, unsatisfied.