Liberia government may offer model for Africa

Barrier to trust
More than a half million Liberians have returned to their homes, according to the United Nations. And in November, Johnson-Sirleaf persuaded the International Monetary Fund to begin relief on Liberia's debt of $3.5 billion.

The new openness at the top is obvious just from switching on the radio. Government officials are guests on talk shows almost daily, explaining policies, taking suggestions and fielding angry complaints. The justice minister tells a caller frankly that some police are corrupt. Every new initiative is presented for public comment.

At the Information Ministry, deputy Gabriel Williams is constantly interrupted by telephone calls and passers-by who open his office door to ask directions. He apologizes as he answers the phone for the fourth or fifth time in a few minutes, explaining that government must be accessible.

As he speaks, the lights flicker and die. The generator is turned off for the night.

"We only budget for so much fuel a day," says Williams. He pauses briefly, then picks up his train of thought. "We inherited a system where there was no public trust in government. ... We are trying to change that."

One barrier to that trust is corruption, which costs Africa about $148 billion a year, according to African Union estimates. Four years of corruption is enough to eat up all the foreign aid sent to Africa in the last 60 years.

Liberia used to be among the worst offenders. Money for government workers went instead to buy SUVs for politicians. There were secret no-bid contracts for mining rights. The families of many schoolchildren paid tuition at the central bank because successive school administrators fled the country with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Liberia has now canceled concession contracts for rubber and timber, given with dubious transparency. And it insists new contracts follow international business practices and give the country a cut for its exports.

"Firestone has been here for 97 years but we don't produce enough rubber locally to make a condom," says Sandra Howard-Kendor, deputy chairwoman of the Governance Commission established to direct reform.

Role of opposition
The government is also decentralizing power to get rid of the old system of patronage. Every major government transaction is examined by both a Liberian manager and an international expert. Experts from Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere in Africa help with financial management and train Liberian staff.

The business community in general is responding. Tony Hage, leader of the economically powerful Lebanese community, for example, says governance is improving. But the Liberian Business Association complains that foreign businesses are gaining more than locals, and it wants more and faster change.

Perhaps the clearest sign of change is the role of the opposition. Former soccer star George Weah, Johnson-Sirleaf's opponent in the runoff election, sat in the front row at her inauguration.

Even opposition politicians concede the government is bent on reform, and grumble mostly about the pace or the manner of change. One former presidential candidate complains that Johnson-Sirleaf is too tied to foreign investors. Another, lawyer Winston Tubman, says he would pursue the same good governance goals but reunite the country first.

"They are serious about what they are doing, but they are on the wrong track," says Tubman, the nephew of one-time president William Tubman and a lawyer who quit as the U.N. special envoy for Somalia to run for the presidency.

High praise for female leader
Overseas, Johnson-Sirleaf wins high praise and awards from the United Nations, the United States and the European Union. At home, she draws guarded hope. Many Liberians are somewhat wary of her close ties with the World Bank and her early support for warlord Taylor, whom she later rejected, but still believe she is their best chance for a better life.

Norman, the reluctant one-time boy soldier, pushes his sunglasses up on top of his head and briefly surveys the chaos on the broken streets of Monrovia. Now that the country is at peace, people can work, go to school and dream again about a future, he says.

"The changes in Liberia are taking place a little slow," he adds. "But we expect this government to do something. We have faith it is doing its best to improve our lives."

"The difference," says Norman, leaning forward and speaking softly to emphasize his point, "is that we put this government into power."

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