Why is Economic Development Stagnant In the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Administration

As the saying goes, like mother like daughter, and like father like son. Yesterday, 7/6/2013, on a TMZ Radio International program, "Issues in the Press," Press Secretary to the President, Mr. Jerolinmek Piah was its host. Among his many praises for his boss, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for doing what he sees as "a remarkable job in Liberia since her incumbency as president," was the claim that Liberia's budget has soared from 80 million dollars to some 450 million dollars. He further highlighted the size of the nation's cash asset. Somewhere in the tone of 120 million dollars. He went on to highlight other intangible values such as Liberia's respectability in the world. According to him, "Liberians will miss his boss when she is no longer president, and so on." These are exactly the same rhetoric madam toted at the end of her first term.

What the Ellen's confidant did not brag about, is the growth of our nation's economy in terms of GDP and GNP, those tangible factors that determine the progress of ordinary Liberians. The fact that this closed confidant to the president, could not comment on our nation's economic development, speaks volumes.

What is economic development? It has to do with the level of wealth of a country, or the process by which it increases its wealth. In essence, it has to do with the increase in human productivity. Economic development, or getting wealthy as a country, has to do with major structural changes of a society: from rural-agrarian to urban-industrial; from poor, illiterate, and sick to wealthy, literate, educated and healthy.  This is also the change marked by the nation's demographic transition.

Mr. Piah mostly highlighted social, political, and cultural development. This has been the focus of past Liberian governments, which has kept us stagnant.

But, there is a big agreement on the functions of an economy: it produces and distributes goods and services. Thus, an economy that produces and distributes more goods and services is more developed than one that produces and distributes less. Liberia produces very little. This is why the president and her associates have less to say about growth.

Moreover, since goods and services flow through a market, they are given a monetary value. That is to say that, they are measured by interval yardsticks. As a result, it is possible to sum up all the things an economy does and state same in monetary terms, as Gross National Product (GNP).

Basically, investment produces a spike in human productivity: withholding some wealth from consumption to build greater productive capacities, increases productivity.

Back to Mr. Piah. There is a reason why your government budget has grown close to half a billion dollars. The size of government has stretched beyond proportion more than any government in the history of Liberia. Moreover, the focus is largely on how to run itself instead of the country (i.e., procuring expensive vehicles for its officials, gassing them, scratch cards, sustaining government bloated payroll, travel allowances, and other senseless spending).

No matter how much terms of reference Ellen gets, using the above approach will only service her government with little or no result.

Solution: Reduce government by 70 percent and refocus that resources to developing GDP and GNP.