Liberia

Country Overview

The Republic of Liberia fronts on to the Atlantic Ocean for some 560 km to the southwest and is bordered to the northwest by Sierra Leone, to the north by Guinea, and to the east by Côte d'Ivoire. Portuguese explorers visited Liberia's coast in 1461 and, during the next 300 years, European merchants and Africans engaged in trade. Today sixteen ethnic groups make up 95% of the Liberian population. Americo-Liberians (descendants of former U.S. slaves) make up approximately 2.5% of the population, and Congo People (descendants of former Caribbean slaves) 2.5%. Traditional religions are practiced by about 70% of the population, 30% of whom also follow Christian religions, 10% are Christian and 20% Muslim. English is the official language, but African languages are used extensively. The history of modern Liberia dates from 1816, when the American Colonization Society, a private United States organization, was given a charter by the United States to send freed slaves to the west coast of Africa. The first wave of emancipated slaves who landed in Liberia was western influenced and educated, alien in origin, life-style, culture, language, religion and habits to the indigenous Africans. In many respects, they re-created an American society in Liberia and Monrovia, the capital, was named after President Monroe. The original settlers who survived in the first wave of immigration formed the nucleus of the settler population and the ruling minority until 1980.

The constitution of Africa's first republic was modelled after that of the United States and the judicial, political and administrative systems patterned on those of America, with no regard to the indigenous culture or way of life, in fact Liberia's constitution denied indigenous Liberians equal rights with the American emigrants and their descendants. The first President, Joseph Jenkins Roberts, was born free, a native of Virginia, USA, and the son of free "blacks" whose heritage was more than seven-eighths white. In 1847, primarily due to British pressures, the colony of Liberia was declared an independent republic, recognised as such by most countries in the next few years, except the USA who waited until 1862 to do so. During the Second World War, Liberia prospered, becoming an important source of rubber for the United States and Great Britain. Firestone of America leased large areas for rubber production in 1926. Under the leadership of presidents Edwin Barclay (1930--44) and William V.S.Tubman (1944--71), the country's mineral wealth, particularly iron ore, began to be exploited, and there was a gradual improvement of roads, schools, and health standards. Upon Tubman's death in 1971, Vice President W. R. Tolbert took charge and, in 1972, he was elected to the presidency.

Doe

In 1980, President Tolbert was assassinated in a coup orchestrated by Liberian Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe, who assumed power as Chairman of the newly established People's Redemption Council (PRC). Doe suspended the constitution, established military law, abolished the legislature and proscribed all political parties. In August 1984, Doe founded the National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL) and announced his candidature for the presidency. Besides the NDPL, only three of the 11 parties who registered were allowed to participate. Two of the most influential parties, the Liberian People's Party (LPP) and the United People's Party (UPP), were proscribed. Doe became Liberia's first indigenous president in 1985.

Taylor

On December 24, 1989, a small band of rebels led by Doe's former procurement chief, Charles Taylor, invaded Liberia from the Ivory Coast under the banner of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). Fighting on both sides of the Liberian-Ivorian border was fomented between members of the Krahn (Doe's ethnic group) and Guere, with their Gio and Yacouba neighbours. Taylor's move was deemed unilateral by the foreign politicians, who had originally backed his plans for regime change, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was asked to intervene. A civilian interim government in exile was constituted and a ceasefire established. Taylor boycotted the process declaring his own organisation sovereign government and proclaimed himself President.

From 1990 until the 1997 elections, several interim and transitional governments existed, and a number of ceasefires were brokered and subsequently breached. Fighting continued between Taylor's NPFL and other rebel factions, in particular those dominated by ethnic Krahn and Mandingo, supporters of Prince Yormie Johnson. Several attempts were made to take Monrovia by force. Finally, Johnson opened up the port to ECOMOG troops who took the city, cutting it off from Taylor's NPFL. In April 1996, under the terms of a cease-fire agreement negotiated under the aegis of the US Government, the UN and ECOWAS, ECOMOG troops were deployed within the capital. 1996 was a breakthrough year with a transitional government that saw the entry into Monrovia of the 'warlords', and disarmament was begun later that year. The war formally ended in 1997. It is estimated that between 150,000 and 200,000 lives were lost in the civil strife, with hundreds of thousands of refugees having fled the country. Multiparty presidential and legislative elections, held in July 1997, brought Charles Taylor to power. A period of relative stability then ensued with a limited recovery of economic activity. Other than a few skirmishes near the Guinean border, there was no armed conflict By the late 1990s, Taylor had alienated most politicians who had hoped that a broad-based government could function. Liberia was accused of supporting rebel forces in Sierra Leone's civil war by supplying troops and arms in exchange for diamonds, Guinea accused Liberian forces of entering its territory and attacking border villages, and the UK and the United States threatened to suspend international aid to Liberia. In an attempt to undermine the RUF, in 2000 the United Nations placed an 18-month ban on the international sale of diamonds from Sierra Leone and in May of the following year, imposed sanctions on Liberia. In mid 2001, more fighting erupted in NW Liberia between anti-Taylor LURD rebels and government forces. The fighting intensified during the following year, and the rebels continued to expand the war into other regions of Liberia.

By mid 2003, the reinvigorated rebels controlled roughly two thirds of the country and were threatening to seize Monrovia, leading to calls for Taylor to step down and for the United States to send peacekeeping forces.

Transitional Government

On August 11, 2003, under U.S. and international pressure, President Taylor resigned office and departed into exile in Nigeria. A peace agreement was signed with the two rebel groups and several thousand West African peacekeepers arrived, supported temporarily by an offshore U.S. force. In October, the West African force was placed under UN command and was reinforced with troops from other nations. Businessman Gyude Bryant became president of a new power-sharing government. Since then, the first of two years of the current transitional government has passed remarkably well. The disarmament exercise can be deemed a success and, since November 2004, possession of illegal arms has become a criminal offence. Demobilizing combatants has been almost completed, apart for some remote pockets of armed fighters patiently waiting for their exchange deal. The deployment of UNMIL (United Nations Peace Mission in Liberia) forces throughout the country is also nearing completion.

Recent reports show that Liberia is making substantial headway towards stabilizing the country and creating the necessary conditions for the full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The UN Mission's new phase of operations will focus particularly on: rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-combatants and community development; the restoration of State administration nationwide; the strengthening of the rule-of-law institutions and restructuring of the security sector; promotion of the process of recovery and reconstruction; and the organization of free and fair elections in October 2005. The consequent improvement in security has greatly facilitated the delivery of humanitarian assistance and progress towards the restoration of State authority. UNMIL's mandate may now be extended for a period of 12 months until 19 September 2005. On February 5-6, 2004, in New York, the United States co-hosted an international reconstruction conference on Liberia where donors pledged a total of $522 million in assistance. The United States is contributing $200 million for critical humanitarian needs and has contributed a further $245 million for the establishment of UNMIL. General elections are called for in October 2005, with the new government coming into place in 2006. These will be the first near-perfect elections in Liberia's 150 years of existence. Economic activity is expected to pick up further from the relatively slow 2004 recovery, as there is optimism that not only this episode of civil war and regime change is definitely past, but that the parameters are there to ensure longer term development as has not been seen since at least the 1970s.

Economy

Until the 1950s, Liberia's economy was almost totally dependent upon subsistence farming and the production of rubber. The American-owned Firestone plantation was the country's largest employer and held a concession over one million acres (404,700 hectares) of land. With the discovery of high-grade iron ore, the production and export of minerals became the country's major cash-earner. Gold, diamonds, barite, and kyanite were also mined. At present, three quarters of the population work in the agricultural sector, producing coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava, palm oil, sugarcane, yams, and okra. Much rice, the main staple, is imported, but efforts have been made to develop intensive rice production and to establish fish farms. Much of the country's industry is concentrated around Monrovia and is directed toward the production of food, rubber processing and the manufacture of construction materials. The lack of skilled and technical labor has slowed the growth of the manufacturing sector.

The government derives a sizable income from registering ships; low fees and lax control over shipping operations have made the Liberian merchant marine one of the world's largest. Internal communications are poor, with few paved roads and only a few short, freight-carrying rail lines. In general, the value of imports greatly exceeds that of exports, and the country has accumulated massive international debts. Liberia's main trading partners are the United States and the European Union. The departure of the former president, Charles Taylor, to Nigeria in August 2003, the establishment of the all-inclusive National Transition Government of Liberia (NTGL), and the arrival of a UN mission are all encouraging signs that the political crisis is finally at an end. The restoration of infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy depend on the implementation of sound macro- and micro-economic policies, including the encouragement of foreign investment, and generous support from donor countries.

2003 GNP 0.51 bn dollars

GNP per capita 159 dollars

Minerals

Notwithstanding the ups and downs of the post war environment in Liberia, MANO has been able to stubbornly continue its exploration programs, both prospect-focused gold drilling and regional diamond indicator and gold stream sampling, in total safety, without any interference from the localised border clashes of 1999/2000. During 2005, MANO resumed drilling at the KGL and Weaju gold projects, joint venture partner Trans Hex Group initiated its programme over the kimberlite pipes at Kpo, and MANO commenced work on the large diamond reconnaissance licence in the west of Liberia, in joint venture with the Ministry of Lands Mines and Energy.

Most famous for its former iron ore mines, including Bong and Lamco-Liminco, Liberia has always been a significant exporter of alluvial diamonds and gold. Rubber and timber complement the export streams. In 2005, MANO secured a licence over the Putu iron ore deposit in the east of the country, with field investigations due to commence shortly.

MANO's arrival in Liberia as very early pioneers is believed to have speeded up progress by several years, while the Company has also sponsored the provision of international advice to the Liberian government on the key issue of framing competitive mining legislation and taxation.