COMMENTARY
I was the CFO of a company that had operations in Liberia in the 1970s when President Tolbert was in power, and subsequently I did several consulting missions to Liberia for the UN, World Bank, IFC and others when President Doe had the power. As readers may know I am a professionally trained accountant, and know something of government financial management over and beyond corporate accounting, and am not easily hood-winked by silly financial statements. This made me unpopular with both the Doe Government and the World Bank/IFC/UN who were unwilling to accept that their money was, for all practical purposes, being stolen. When consultants won't write what the client wants them to write ... you don't get paid, and your consulting career implodes. If you are right, you still don't get paid, and your career still implodes ... but you do get to feel good. Two years after this incident, the World Bank acknowledged that their loans to Liberia had gone into default! What a surprise!

The problem with political leadership in Liberia is that the culture of government thievery is old and deep ... and it is not clear that President Ellen Sirlead-Johnson has much, if any, support to get a handle on this problem. When I talk of support ... I refer to support not only inside the Liberia political system, but also among the international actors, all of whom are interested in 'their share of the cake'.
Peter Burgess

November 7th, 2011 ... Violence ahead of the run-off election reporting by Yvonne Ndege

The run-off election is between Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson and William Tubman. Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson is the incumbent, and recent co-winner of a Nobel Peace Prize, but both of these candidates have a history that seems to be to some degree questionable. Tubman is alleged to have been a supporter of President Samuel Doe, and Sirleaf Johnson a supporter at one time of President Charles Taylor ... and of course, both had political connections and history going back way before the Doe regime.