The current state of Liberia’s economy is a complete threat to national security. The economic downtown is leading towards economic, social and political crises. If measures are not put in place to mitigate the impact, more damage will be made to the economy. This article presents reasons for Liberia’s economic woes.
Over the past decade, Liberia seemed to enjoy a great deal of economic stability. Sadly, the economic stability was based on the fact that Liberia became a market for most countries in the world. Liberians did not enjoy economic stability because of ownership of a means of production.
Liberia lost control of its own future and became consumer of all world merchandize. Huge amount of cash was flowing through many open windows that Liberians were not able to see.
Over-dependency on the international aid system
Liberia’s over-reliance on international support whenever there’s a crisis is the same reason why the country is facing more economic crises. Reliance caused more harm to the long-term economic development of the country.
Right now, It seems Liberia can’t make it on their own. They have to source help from donor organizations and bilateral trade partners.
This kind of dependency has made Liberia to appear more of a colony to the international support system. This is because Liberia ask for help in everything, from political to economic.
Ebola strike
Ebola invasion in Liberia only made things worse. The disease struck many households, which also contributed to economic break-down . Ebola impoverished the households struck by the epidemic. Household incomes really went down and poverty invaded most parts of the country.
Ebola also scared away international investors from Liberia. International trade partners also got scared from severity of the disease. From the time Ebola invaded Liberia, things have never been the same again.
Ebola also led to serious effects on health care sector of Liberia. The disease affected provision of healthcare services in Liberia. Because of this, control of serious illnesses such as HIV and malaria was tampered with.
The results were catastrophic to the nation’s economy.
Corruption
Corruption is a problem to many African countries, a challenge that have denied them a chance to develop.
Although Liberia has shown progress in its strive to fight corruption, it remains a barrier to economic development.
One reason why corruption is rampant in Liberia is because the country does not clearly have a specific corruption crime punishable by law. This means that the country have no enforced law against corruption.
Politically, corruption weakens trust between citizens and government officials. This in turns makes the government unstable and insecure because of loss of legitimacy.
Corruption in Liberia undermines national economy and it is wasteful in terms of making use of scarce resources. National projects in Liberia do not go well unless they get support from other countries. Because of this, national development is tampered with hence economic crisis.
Conclusion
The economic condition of Liberia requires immediate attention and action.
More:
- Liberia’s Economic Woes – Turbulence or Structural Disfunctionality?
- Liberia Finance Chief Says Cleanup Will End Economic Woes
