MONROVIA: Liberia’s 177th Independence Anniversary Speaker, Rotbel Robtel Neajai Pailey, has called on Liberians of all works of life to embark upon national renewal, to allow dignity define them and cut the corner towards radical transformation. She called it building Liberia back differently.
To achieve what she described as “this lofty goal”, Dr. Pailey proposed what she called a radical agenda that begins with the need to “reconceptualize and redefine Liberian citizenship”.
According to her, she published a book in 2021 that investigates how Liberian citizenship has changed across space and time and what implications this has for the country’s development outcomes.
“I discovered that in the aftermath of any kind of upheaval or disorder, identities, practices and relations between people fundamentally transform,” she told a jampacked Centennial Pavilion on July 26. “From our founding as a nation-state, to the indigenous wars of resistance, to the political rumblings of the 1970s, to the vile assassinations in 1980 and 1990 of two heads of state which culminated in warfare, Liberian identities, practices and interpersonal relations have completely changed.”
“Understanding why this change occurred and how we cope with it now is the beginning of re-imagining Liberia anew,” she said. “I used the unique backstories of the Liberians I interviewed at home and abroad—in five cities, five countries, three continents—to develop a framework for reconceptualizing and redefining what it means to be Liberian.
“I call it the ‘Liberian citizenship triad’. Shaped like a triangle, this triad has three points that move from the individual to how the individual interacts with her/his government and society.”
Dr. Pailey said: “Point 1 on the triad defines Liberian citizenship as passive and identity-based. You are Liberian if you can claim birthplace and/or bloodline ties to the country. This passive, identity-based form of citizenship is about claiming rights, regardless of your age, gender, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, ability, etc. Do you speak Liberian English and/or a Liberian language? Do you identify with at least one of our counties as part of your lineage?
“Point 2 on the triad defines Liberian citizenship as active and practice-based. You are Liberian if you consistently contribute to the country’s socio-economic transformation, in big and small ways. This active, practice-based form of citizenship is about fulfilling responsibilities.”
Point 3 on the triad defines Liberian citizenship as interactive, based on a set of relations between citizens and between citizens and the state, she further said. “You are Liberian if you engage in healthy interactions with other Liberians and with your government [healthy interactions are defined as interactions that are neither abusive nor exploitative].
“This interactive, relationship-based form of citizenship is about building bonds. Do you hold yourself, your fellow citizen and your government accountable? Do you offer constructive criticism, when necessary and appropriate, in ways that are not self-serving?”
She said these are the hallmarks of building a new Liberia for all Liberians. So, a reimagined Liberia is one in which we claim rights, we fulfill responsibilities and we cultivate/maintain wholesome relationships with one another.
“We can implement this ‘Liberian citizenship triad’ by incorporating formal lessons about citizenship into our national curricula at all levels; by implementing a national youth service scheme to send graduating high school seniors who opt out of university to the counties for on-the-job training in the private, public and humanitarian sectors; and by requiring anyone who assumes public office, whether appointed or elected, to undergo mandatory civics training. For elected officials, a prerequisite for national certification should be assets declaration and at least 10 hours of civics education; appointed officials should complete training within two weeks of confirmation.”
The National Orator also presented to Liberians “Tackling ‘structural violence’ and ‘unfreedoms’” as another angle in achieving the goal of “build back differently” mantra.
She said as a critical development scholar, she knows that the main goal of ‘development’ is to enhance wellbeing and reduce deprivation but that ‘structural violence’ and ‘unfreedoms’—which involve institutions and structures that fuel inequality and injustice—inhibit individuals from meeting their basic needs or actualizing their fullest capabilities.
Though less visible than physical violence, ‘structural violence’ is systemic, enduring and ultimately more dangerous, Dr. Pailey noted. “Indeed, the true test of any nation is its willingness to transform the structural conditions that render so many of its citizens hopeless and hapless.”
She said a re-imagined Liberia intentionally seeks to reduce the ‘unfreedom’ of poverty and the inequity of ‘structural violence’, because the contrast between Liberia’s haves and have nots is entirely too stark.
“Over 50% of Liberians live in multidimensional poverty,” the Liberian academic stated. “This is unacceptable and needless for a country that can boast of 177 years as a sovereign state.
“We have the resources—both human and financial—to achieve our development dividends. However, we must change our economic model of extracting and exploiting finite resources, and focus instead on building an industrial base for manufacturing and exporting finished products such as steel rods from our iron ore, condoms from our raw latex, furniture from our timber, country cloth textiles handwoven from our locally grown cotton, etc.”
According to her, some of the assets may not last forever, but the resilience of the people of Liberia will.
“So, we must invest heavily in Liberians,” she continued. “We can begin to do this by allocating extra revenue generated from manufactured goods to expand ‘freedoms’ such as access to quality education for all. A re-imagined Liberia rejects anti-intellectualism, develops critical thinking skills and invests in lifelong learning from cradle to grave.
“When I worked in government over a decade ago, we developed a capacity building strategy that aligned with our development needs. So, in addition to educating geologists, engineers and epidemiologists in our universities, we also focused on training electricians, carpenters and plumbers in our technical and vocational education institutes. This is a model worth replicating because everyone does not need to attend university to contribute to structural transformation. Having said that, I must stress that a re-imagined Liberia requires an autonomous tertiary education sector that is fit for purpose.”
She also insisted that “we shift our attention away from the extractive industries, which make us vulnerable to the vagaries of global capitalism, and focus instead on developing our creative industries.”
Dr. Pailey asked: “Why not empower cultural and creative entrepreneurs so that the work of craftspeople, writers, musicians, visual artists, actors, designers, dancers, etc, is valued, protected through our copyright laws and fairly compensated?
“This brings me to Liberia’s extreme levels of income inequality. The unregulated accumulation of vast wealth amidst cumulative want in this country is not only obscene and callous, but also structurally violent. Lawmakers, I urge you to revise our Decent Work Bill. Change the monthly minimum wage from US$143 to at least US$250 and reverse Liberia’s so-called ‘harmonization policy’. Because a country that pays its average workers below average salaries is setting itself up for failure.”
She called for the reform Liberia’s pensions and social security system leading to a complete overhaul of NASSCORP. This way, the National Orator said, “the agency can serve all workers, including those in the informal sector who represent the backbone of our economy.”
If Liberian government does its part, she said, “then we citizens must also do ours”, narrating a personal story where when she was growing up as an undocumented immigrant in Washington, DC, “my humble and hard-working parents constantly reminded me that diligence and tenacity would be my ticket out of legal limbo.”
They were right, she said. “How many of us actually value hard work? Some of us want jobs but refuse to put in the time and effort required to secure and maintain a career. When given the opportunity, we shirk our responsibilities and demand compensation for doing very little. We must change our ethic around work and propel our labor market into the next century.”
Another feature of her proposed “build back differently” dogma is for Government to enforce the Liberianization Policy by protecting Liberian businesses from the monopoly of foreign cartels.
“For example, because we import more than 80 percent of our food – including the staple rice – preference for government contracts should be given to Liberian agribusinesses operating at scale. This will promote food security in keeping with the Liberians Feed Yourself program,” Pailey also asserted.
“However, protectionist policies should never give us license to lower our standards or accept mediocrity. Liberians must constantly invent new ways to expand market outcomes and play an active role in our economy. Because the display of talent I saw at our Made in Liberia Trade Fair in Monrovia last Saturday blew me away! We are a resilient nation of gifted people who are beginning to dream beyond the realm of possibility.”
She urged Liberian entrepreneurs to see the heaps of trash dotted across Liberia as a business opportunity.
She said: “See the generation of renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal and biofuel) as an impetus for confronting the climate crisis. See the supply of clean potable water as a business opportunity. See advancements in technology and artificial intelligence (AI) as an opportunity to produce jobs for the future. These pursuits will create sustainable employment, reduce intergenerational poverty and spur economic growth.”
“Our goal must be inclusive growth, not growth by any means,” emphasized. “And if inclusive growth is our mission, then we must cancel contracts with poorly performing multinationals and renegotiate concession agreements that violate Liberian laws (including our labor laws) and international human rights standards (including environmental governance).
“The agreements must be amended in consultation with affected communities and should yield improvements in tax collection.”
Dr. Pailey called on Liberians to leverage increased domestic resource mobilization from these revised concessions to pay off internal and international debt, and clear our arrears at regional institutions that we founded such as the African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Mano River Union (MRU).
She added: “On the domestic front, we must lead a ‘values-based revolution’ against corruption. My two anti-corruption kids’ books were written for this reason, that is, to equip children with the verbal tools to question the confusing ethical codes of the adults in their lives and to model accountability.
“We do not need to reinvent the wheel, but we can be innovative in our advocacy of integrity. Liberia has a triple heritage of faith traditions, so what do African metaphysics, Islam and Christianity have to teach us about greed and graft? How do they address gbagba, the title of my first book, which loosely translates in Bassa as lying, cheating and stealing? How do they promote jaadeh, the title of my sequel, which means honesty, truthfulness and transparency?”
Because corruption is not only rampant in the public and private sectors, the National Orator stressed, “it is enmeshed in our everyday human interactions. We even use coded language and other euphemisms to conceal our misdeeds.
“Cold water. Gato. Flexibility fees. Dis country you see, ehn da technique? We often point the finger at our government, failing to realize that corruption begins in homes and communities, that corruption is a function of both poverty and greed, and that a corrupt regime is a reflection of a corrupt society.”
While modifying values from top to bottom, bottom to top, she said, “we must enforce already sound laws while building additional safeguards to curb corruption.”
She called for strengthening judicial bodies and integrity institutions by populating them with impartial patriots, name and shame those found guilty of evading public trust, force them to restitute stolen funds/resources and then send them to jail.
“High-level corruption, in particular, is like mass murder and we must treat it like the egregious crime it is. Because the rule of law is not some fashionable accessory we put on whenever it suits us; it is the protective armor we must carry every day in our ‘values-based revolution’”.
Further stressing her recommendations, Dr. Pailey said in addition to prosecuting people in a soon-to-be established National Anticorruption Court, “we must also remove corruption-inducing expenditure from our budget such as inflated salaries for elected and appointed officials, imported vehicles, fuel and scratch card allotments.”
These funds, she advised, should be reallocated to incentivize doctors, nurses, teachers, and police officers who serve under-resourced regions of this country.
All government agencies must be audited, and elected and appointed officials should declare their assets for public scrutiny as a requirement for assuming office, she said.
International Front
On the international affairs front, the National Orator posited that Liberia must not allow foreign financiers to highjack our development process.
“We cannot and will not build a new Liberia for all Liberians if we blindly pander to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and their proxies in the United Nations,” said noted, warning that these neoliberal institutions are not committed to the radical transformation required to re-imagine Liberia and that “our socio-economic transformation must be internally-driven, not externally imposed.”
She stressed: “A re-imagined Liberia reduces poverty and inequality, yes, but it also redistributes wealth, invests domestic revenue in basic social services, protects land and labor in the midst of capitalist re-integration, and expands prosperity for all. This is how we address ‘structural violence’ and ‘unfreedoms’ head-on.”
Prioritizing both nation-building and state-building
Dr. Pailey observed that for the last two decades, Liberia has focused almost exclusively on state-building at the expense of nation-building, yet, one cannot succeed without the other.
She said whereas state-building concerns strengthening government institutions—such as policies, laws, courts and legislatures—nation-building is about improving the relationships that govern Liberians’ lives.
While nation-building is ‘people centric’ and internally driven, requiring national agency, ownership, and resources, state building is ‘institution centric’ and often externally-supported with international resources, she also said.
The National orator continued: “Whereas state-building focuses on building physical infrastructure—roads, bridges, ports, etc.—nation-building focuses on building human infrastructure, that is, the psychosocial, emotional, mental and communal wellbeing of citizens. State-building lifts Liberia by improving the government’s ability to provide privileges and protections; nation-building lifts Liberians by enabling citizens to demand representation, rights and resources while also fulfilling responsibilities.
She asserted further: “Twenty years in the making, our recent progress on establishing a war and economic crimes court is a welcome convergence of both nation-building and state-building. Because the arc of a re-imagined Liberia bends towards justice. In our bid to achieve ‘positive peace’, we cannot afford to bungle this process.
“We must be the chief sponsor and architect of this court, including providing the lion’s share of financing for it. We must institute a transparent and merit-based process of selecting who shapes the court’s mandate. And we must hold accountable those who bear the greatest responsibility for economic and war crimes without fear or favor, including foreign financiers and external state actors.”
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