By Tiawan Saye Gongloe, SCL, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Liberia and the Liberia School of Law
Liberia has made important democratic progress. After fourteen years of civil conflict, governments now change through ballots rather than bullets. Regular elections are becoming normal, and this achievement must be protected.
But elections are not an end in themselves. Democracy must improve the lives of the people. Too often, Liberia’s elections have produced establishment politicians who change positions and parties without changing the economic condition of ordinary citizens.
While senior officials enjoy high salaries, allowances, vehicles, foreign travel and other benefits, teachers, civil servants, police officers, soldiers and healthcare workers struggle to survive. I have described this excessive official privilege as legalized theft. Corruption widens the gap even further between the governing elite and the governed.
Other African countries show that democracy can deliver better results. Botswana transformed itself from one of the world’s poorest countries into an upper-middle-income country through comparatively prudent management of its mineral wealth and stronger institutions. Mauritius diversified beyond sugar, while Cape Verde and Seychelles demonstrate that competitive democracy can coexist with economic progress.
None is perfect, but they show that African governments can manage resources more responsibly and improve people’s lives.
Liberia has gold, diamonds, iron ore, timber, rubber, fertile land and maritime resources. It also has enormous potential for eco-tourism and carbon-credit revenues because of its forests, biodiversity and natural environment. Yet too many Liberians remain poor because these resources and opportunities have not been converted into shared prosperity.
One simple test of real change should be healthcare. Liberians should not have to travel to Ghana or India merely for medical diagnosis because essential equipment is unavailable at home. No doctor can successfully treat a patient without proper diagnosis. Government should provide the necessary diagnostic machines, test kits and trained technicians.
When medical referrals abroad sharply decline because diagnoses can be performed in Liberia, that will be visible change. People will experience it themselves.
That kind of progress needs no propaganda. When government improves people’s lives, the people will speak for the government.
Politicians must stop treating public office as an opportunity for personal enrichment. Voters must also stop selling their votes for rice, money or temporary benefits. Liberians must vote for character, competence, integrity and credible plans for jobs, education, healthcare, agriculture and accountable government.
Government is a place to serve, not to steal.
Governance must be for the people, not for the pockets of those who serve in government.
We have moved from bullets to ballots. Our next task is to move from ballots to better lives, from establishment politics to transformative leadership, and from poverty to shared prosperity. A better Liberia is possible!!
