Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07MONROVIA591
2007-05-18 15:53:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Monrovia
Cable title:  

LIBERIA: SCENE SETTER FOR HDAC CODEL

Tags:  PGOV PREL EAID ECON LI 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0014
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMV #0591/01 1381553
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181553Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY MONROVIA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8591
UNCLAS MONROVIA 000591 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W-PDAVIS
STATE PASS TO HOUSE DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE COMMISSION-JOHN LIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID ECON LI
SUBJECT: LIBERIA: SCENE SETTER FOR HDAC CODEL

UNCLAS MONROVIA 000591

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W-PDAVIS
STATE PASS TO HOUSE DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE COMMISSION-JOHN LIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID ECON LI
SUBJECT: LIBERIA: SCENE SETTER FOR HDAC CODEL


1. (SBU) Embassy welcomes the May 31-June 2 visit of the
House Democracy Assistance Commission (HDAC) congressional
delegation. Liberia is at a critical moment in its history,
emerging from 14 years of civil war under a democratically
elected government that has been in office a year and a half.
The Government of Liberia faces daunting challenges. The
country's civil and societal institutions, as well as its
infrastructure, were destroyed during the conflict.
Rebuilding Liberia involves reestablishing the rule of law,
recruiting and training a new police force, standing up a new
army, rebuilding procedures and institutions for sound
economic governance, controlling rampant corruption, and
putting in place infrastructure to provide basic services.
In addition to rebuilding infrastructure, the issue of social
relationships and reconciliation, including coming to terms
with the atrocities of the war, are all part of the agenda
facing the new government and are essential to moving Liberia
from being a failed state to becoming functional once again.


Political Overview
--------------


2. (U) Liberia, Africa's oldest republic, is located on the
West Coast of Africa, along the Gulf of Guinea, and shares
borders with Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Cote d'Ivoire.
Liberia is a member of the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS),the African Union (AU),the Mano River Union
and the United Nations. Liberia's population is estimated to
be 3.4 million with a population growth rate of 2.5 percent.
Approximately 1 to 1.5 million persons live in greater
Monrovia, the country's capital, while the rest of the
country is sparsely populated.


3. (U) Peace was restored to Liberia after a fourteen-year
civil war with the signing of the Accra Comprehensive Peace
Agreement (CPA) in August 2003. The CPA established the
National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL),which was
constituted by representatives of former warring factions,
former Government of Liberia political parties, and civil
society. The United Nations stationed 15,000 peacekeeping

troops in Liberia and initiated a disarmament and
demobilization program in which 103,000 ex-combatants
enrolled. Over the course of 2003 to 2004, the United
Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) expanded its deployment to
all of Liberia's fifteen counties and is still primarily
responsible for security throughout the country.


4. (U) As specified by the CPA, national elections took place
on October 11, 2005 to choose Liberia's President, Vice
President, Senate, and House of Representatives. Thirty
political parties were recognized for the election and 22
candidates ran for the Presidency. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of
the Unity Party (UP) was elected President in a November 8
run-off election against former soccer star George Weah of
the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) party. Johnson
Sirleaf was inaugurated as Africa's first female head of
state on January 16, 2006. The executive branch has 20
ministries and approximately 15 parastatal companies or
state-owned enterprises.


5. (SBU) There are 11 political parties represented in
Liberia's legislature. The CDC party has the largest single
block of representation in the House of Representatives with
16 elected members out of a total of 64 members (one seat is
currently vacant following the death of the sitting
legislator). The Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia
(COTOL) has the largest single block of representation in the
Senate with 7 elected members out of a total of 30 Senators.
The Liberian legislature has been ineffectual during its
first year and a half, passing no more than a handful of
laws. Members of the House of Representatives spent the
first month of the current session, which began January 15,
mired in a crisis brought about by an attempt to unseat
former Speaker Edwin Snowe. Some members of the House
refused to sit under Snowe's gavel and held plenary sessions
at a separate location and passed a resolution removing
Snowe. Snowe responded by alleging that his colleagues had
accepted bribes in exchange for ousting him and lodged a case
before the Supreme Court alleging that his constitutional
right to due process and his rights under the Standing Rules
of the House of Representatives were violated. The Supreme
Court decided that the acts taken to remove Snowe were
unconstitutional and vacated his removal from office. Snowe
ultimately resigned as Speaker on February 15. While
Liberia's citizens waited for legislation to provide them
with basic services, jobs, and an improved quality of life,
their elected representatives squabbled. Alex Tyler of COTOL
was elected Speaker of the House on April 5, with a small
margin of 32 votes out of a total of 60.


6. (SBU) The Liberian judiciary is divided into four levels:
justice of the peace courts, magistrate courts, circuit
courts, and the Supreme Court. Judges and magistrates are
assigned throughout Liberia's 15 counties, but not all
counties have a courthouse and many lack furniture and basic
supplies. Judges are subject to political, social, and
financial pressures and corruption exists. Trials are public
and juries are used in circuit court trials, but not at the
magistrate court level. Under the law, defendants have the
right to consult with an attorney in a timely manner and to
have access to government-held evidence relevant to their
case. However, in practice these rights are not always
observed. There continue to be long delays in disposition of
cases and most prisoners are in pre-trial detention.

Economic Overview
--------------


7. (U) Liberia's abundant natural resources make it a country
with great potential for investment, though civil unrest,
insecurity, and corruption have stymied this potential in the
last 15 years. Liberia's infrastructure was destroyed during
its civil war, leaving it with a limited transportation
network, scores of broken down or half-finished buildings, no
central electric power, no piped water system, and no
landline phone system. Poor infrastructure makes it
difficult for Liberians to conduct business and even more
difficult to attract much needed foreign investment.


8. (U) Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world
with a per capita GDP of US $407. Estimates of unemployment
and illiteracy range from 75 to 85 percent. Liberia's
largely unskilled labor force works as rubber tappers, petty
traders, seafarers, miners, and agricultural workers. The
government has prepared an Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy
Paper (IPRSP) as part of its strategy to address economic
development. Downsizing of the civil service and raising
salary levels are government priorities. The legislature
passed forestry legislation in September 2006, which provides
the legal framework for the development of this sector of the
economy and resulted in the lifting of UN sanctions on the
export of timber. Liberia was deemed compliant with the
Kimberly Process in May 2007, allowing it to begin exporting
rough diamonds. Liberia was designated AGOA-eligible on
December 29, 2006 and the Ministry of Commerce is
aggressively seeking ways to take advantage of AGOA
acceptance. The high price of rubber is encouraging
development of that sector after years of neglect and
Bridgestone/Firestone, the country's largest rubber exporter
and largest private employer, is pursuing a multi-year
investment and replanting program. In the iron ore mining
sector, Mittal signed an agreement on December 28, 2006 to
rehabilitate the Yekepa mine, rebuild the railroad between
Yekepa and the Port of Buchanan, and renovate the Port of
Buchanan. The estimated investment is one billion dollars
and the project is expected to stimulate corollary
developments in housing, power generation, and agricultural
production, and will create over 3,500 direct jobs.

USG Programs in Liberia
--------------


9. U.S. Mission strategy for Liberia is based on staying
deeply engaged on a variety of issues including reintegration
of ex-combatants, reform of the security sector,
establishment of peace and security, community reintegration,
encouragement of the rule of law and respect for human
rights, promotion of transparent government, and expanded
access to health care and education. Establishing rule of law
is one of Liberia's most important remaining challenges. The
U.S.-funded Justice Sector Support-Liberia (JSSL) program is
helping rebuild Liberia's justice system by improving the
quality of criminal investigations and prosecutions,
improving coordination among police and prosecutors,
strengthening the capacity of public defenders, improving
court administration and criminal case management procedures,
and developing the institutional capacity of the Supreme
Court and Ministry of Justice to develop and manage budget
and finance functions. The U.S. is taking the lead in
Liberia's security sector reform by managing the
restructuring of the Liberian armed forces and supporting
UNMIL in restructuring the national police.


10. USAID manages a range of activities including vocational
skills training; education; health; community development;
capacity building; rebuilding infrastructure; literacy; radio
programs; support for democratic and transparent elections;
economic development initiatives; improving transparency and
accountability in government entities; strengthening the
legislature, political parties and elections systems, and
improving civil society's capacity to hold government
accountable; supporting increased agriculture productivity
and market development; increasing access to justice through
the establishment of legal aid clinics, victim abuse centers
legal internships, and public outreach. Throughout FY 2004
and 2005, USAID implemented a nationwide public works and
skills training program that employed up to 34,000
ex-combatants and other war-affected Liberians to
rehabilitate urban and rural roads and water systems,
community buildings, hospitals, clinics, schools, and
community offices. In FY06, USAID funding created more
sustainable jobs and increased farmer incomes by
resuscitating the agricultural sector with a focus on
improving production of cocoa and rubber. In FY07, USAID
programs are focusing on basic community infrastructure,
maternal and child health, primary education, improving
public sector executive functions, sustainable natural
resource development, promoting economic development and
agricultural sector productivity, expanding energy services,
and improving roads and facilities at Roberts International
Airport, the country's only international airfield. In
December 2006, President Bush announced that Liberia would be
added to the list of focus countries that will receive
assistance under the $1.2 billion President's Malaria
Initiative (PMI).
Mazel