The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
May 19, 2020

In the midst of the long-standing and widespread use of the wrong way to solve the main problem in Liberia, the Global Pandemic, the Corona Virus or COVID-19, gives us an opportunity to reflect on what is going on and come up with the correct way to solve Liberia's main problem. The main problem in Liberia is long-standing and widespread poverty.

Globally credible knowledge about the main problem first came out in the 1950s. During the 1950s, Liberia had the highest economic growth rate per person in the world, while Japan was next, and the USA was lower. This was good news for Liberia but the bad news that overcame the good news was that while Liberia was growing economically, nearly all of the people of Liberia were experiencing poverty, poor living conditions. This poverty situation became known globally as Economic Growth Without Economic Development or Growth Without Development for short.

The Growth Without Development situation was made public especially to the government of Liberia by some Liberian professionals who warned that such a situation when left uncorrected would lead to violence. Acting within the problem-solving mode, this group of professionals formed Susukuu the poverty-alleviation organization to take action to improve the living conditions of the poor so as to prevent violence. Using this bad situation as a pretext to achieve their ambitions, other Liberians acted violently to remove the government. Still, in the problem-solving mode, Susukuu facilitated the disarmament of 19,785 combatants, 82 percent of all the officially disarmed combatants during the Civil War, thereby setting a world record for Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DDRR), according to United Nations peace-keeping records.

Using the knowledge about Growth Without Development, some Liberian professionals who were also advocates for Justice combined their efforts with the efforts of others to form the Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA) to raise awareness about the societal problem of injustice and how Liberians could unite to work together to have a society of Justice for All so that there would be sustainable peace and better living conditions through the Rule of Law.

Despite the peaceful efforts of Susukuu, MOJA and others, the dominant system in Liberia continues to prevail by generating mass poverty through the production of raw materials for export, adding no value at home but adding value abroad where Liberia's raw materials are used to produce manufactured goods that are imported by Liberia under conditions where the prices of exports and imports are determined in global markets, dominated as they are by transnational corporations. This domination takes on local proportions as we observe foreigners in the commercial sector only making USD50 million (fifty million United States dollars) a month doing work and owning businesses that Liberians can do and have the Constitutional Right to own.

With the prevailing Growth Without Development situation, especially in poor educational and health standards, when any global pandemic hits Liberia, preparedness to attend to the pandemic is non-existent. Using knowledge about this situation, when the Ebola virus hit Liberia, a group, Servants of Africa Fighting Ebola (SAFE) formed by the late Dr. Mary Nema Brownell, the late Sheikh Kafumba Konneh, Bishop Arthur Flomo Kulah and me, helped to end Ebola by raising awareness throughout Liberia through communities by using available human, financial and material resources. Now that Lassa fever has re-emerged in Liberia and the Corona Virus has emerged in Liberia, SAFE has been revived as Servants of Africa Fighting Epidemics (SAFE) with the additional leadership of Mrs. Elitha Manning, Founding President-General of the Liberia Labor Congress and Sheikh David Kiazolu, former Secretary-general of the Inter-Religious Council of Liberia to carry out the anti-pandemic awareness work throughout Liberia. The Message for all Liberians and friends of Liberia to spread is clear and straight forward: For helping to end Lassa fever, wash your hands in water with soap or ashes or use a sanitizer. A rat is the source of the fever,  use rat medicine to get rid of rats. For helping to end the Corona Virus, wash your hands in water with soap or ashes or use a sanitizer. Do not go close to any person or animal. When you know of anyone who is coughing, sneezing, or who has a fever, encourage him or her to go to a hospital or a clinic. When you are coughing, sneezing or have a fever, go to a hospital or a clinic or call 4455 for help. Make sure to wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth when you go outside.

To Stay Safe! Happy Unification Day.

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