A Digital Liberia

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A Digital Liberia

iUniverse, Inc.

Chapter One

Liberia is a small country situated on the west coast of Africa. It measures forty-three thousand square miles, about the size of Tennessee, and shares borders with Cote d' Ivoire, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and the Atlantic Ocean. The Republic of Liberia was colonized by the American Colonization Society in response to America's issues with slavery and racial incompatibility. In July of 1847, Liberia won its independence and became the first free African republic. Its government was designed to resemble that of the United States. Joseph Jenkins Roberts, who was born in Norfolk, Virginia, served as Liberia's first president. Roberts had immigrated to Liberia in 1829, a few years after the freed slaves had settled in Liberia, and became president when the country gained its independence. Roberts served two terms as president of Liberia. The first term spanned 1847–1856, and as Liberia's seventh president his second term spanned 1872–1876. Most, if not all of the presidents that succeeded President Roberts shared one thing in common: they were all Americo-Liberians, descendants of freed slaves of the United States of America. This lasted until the fateful morning of April 12, 1980.

The morning of April 12, 1980, marked the end of Americo-Liberian True Whig Party totalitarian rule, which over time created a palpable division, evident by socioeconomic and ethnic disparities, between the indigenous and the Americo-Liberians. That morning Liberia experienced its first military coup d'etat, which brought the country's indigenous sons to the highest office of the land. My memory of that morning is still very vivid. Although a child, I can recall watching an intimidating group of soldiers protecting a young master sergeant who frenetically read a speech justifying the coup. The leader of the coup, Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe, a twenty-eight-year-old soldier who, it was reported, had violently overthrown President William Tolbert, had the complete attention of a nation paralyzed by shock and fear. This assault was orchestrated with neither a comprehensive plan for Liberia then nor an understanding of the implications this coup would have on Liberia's future.

Ironically, Liberia experienced a modest level of economic development during the Doe regime. The entities that represented what is currently the telecommunications and ICT sector, the Liberia Telecommunications Corporation, Liberia Broadcasting System, and the Ministry of Postal Affairs—were all viable entities during Doe's regime. Analog telephone systems, electricity, and running water were available in certain areas. And the country's infrastructure was relatively intact at that time because President Doe had continued the infrastructural development initiatives started by President William R. Tolbert as well as those his government embarked upon. There was no Internet nor large data centers at the time, although banks and other institutions did have their own data-processing centers, obviously not like the ones we have today. There were no pagers, cellular phones, or smart phones, either. What Liberia did have in the form of technology were typewriters, the fax, telegraph machines, analog phones (land lines), and of course the regular postal system, which everyone relied upon. During those years, the government did not concern itself much with computer information technology, because computers were still in their infancy. While there were few Liberians who showed interest in and embarked upon computing careers, there were few if any opportunities or support for this field. In fact, universities in Liberia offered only introductory courses in computer science. Even today, Liberian universities have yet to introduce a robust computer science or information and communications technology program.

Despite all of the progress that Liberia had made in terms of development, it seemed on the verge of collapse due in part to the planned but forceful return of some Liberians who had defected to other countries after the coup. In December of 1989, it came as no surprise when Liberia was invaded by rebel forces of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), by way of the Côte d' Ivoire border. The NPFL was led by Charles Taylor, who subsequently proclaimed himself president. Taylor would be elected president in 1997 by the people of Liberia.

In 1990, during the incursion, Doe was assassinated by another group of rebels led by a self-proclaimed general known as Prince Y. Johnson. By this time, Liberia lay in ruins, the entire infrastructure destroyed, and although certain areas still had telephone service and the rebels began restoring services in their captured areas, Monrovia (the capital of Liberia) continued to crumble. The fighting lasted a few more months after the assassination of President Samuel K. Doe despite the rebels' claim that Doe's demise would bring an end to the war. By this time the world had seen enough and something needed to be done to preserve what was left of the country.

Sometime in 1990, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) intervened and helped negotiate a peace agreement among warring factions and what was left of the Doe government. As part of the intervention, ECOWAS also sent a Nigerian-led West African peacekeeping force, ECOMOG, to Monrovia, Liberia, which restored peace and calm and subsequently installed an interim government led by Dr. Amos Sawyer.

During Sawyer's interim administration the country experienced little in the way development, and unfortunately it was during this time that technology was poised to revolutionize the world. The personal computer was now being used as a business tool, the Internet had gone commercial, there was a change from Gopher to the World Wide Web, e-mail began to gain popularity and momentum, and there was Vice President Al Gore's "Gore Bill," or the High- Performance Computing and Communication Act of 1991 (California4gore n.d.). All of these developments occurred while Liberians were experiencing the wrath of the war. I often wonder what would have happened in Liberia had there been no civil war. Would Liberia have gotten on the information superhighway earlier? I would like to think yes!

In 1992, with military aid from Libya and Burkina Faso, Taylor's forces laid siege to Monrovia and engaged in fighting with ECOWAS forces, a fight that broke the relative peace that had been achieved and the new hopes of Liberians who had been totally devastated. Between 1993 and 1994 a number of cease-fires were established, but the warring factions, especially the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, refused to agree to a peaceful and amicable solution. After a long battle with the ECOWAS's monitoring group, ECOMOG, Mr. Taylor and his forces agreed to a cease-fire and the installation of an interim government inclusive of representatives from various warring factions. Surprisingly, what followed was a general election that ushered Mr. Charles Taylor in as the elected president of postwar Liberia.

On August 1, 1997, Charles Taylor became president of Liberia after the end of the "first" Liberian civil war. No sooner had Taylor taken office than he began to lose the favor and confidence of the masses, just like his predecessor, Samuel K. Doe. His government reportedly prolonged the suffering of the Liberian people as his followers continued to torment the very people he and his office had sworn to protect. Yet, despite Taylor's shortcomings, he did bring some degree of change to Liberia. It was during his administration that cellular phones were introduced to Liberia, bringing a major paradigm shift in the way Liberians communicate. The introduction of cell phones to Liberia's market was a great milestone. It has forever changed the way Liberian's live and bridged a gap that had existed for years between Liberia and the Western world.

In 2003, another disruption in the peace process led to yet another battle between newly formed warring factions and the Taylor-led government. President Taylor was forced to relinquish power to his vice president as a condition for peace. He was later made to leave Liberia for Nigeria, where he lived prior to his arrest and subsequent prosecution at The Hague. This was made possible through the intervention of the United Nations (UN) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU). After his departure a new day dawned, leading to the holding of free and fair elections. The presidential elections ushered in the first female president in African history, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained public administrator. Since then, the country has enjoyed relative peace and stability and has been making efforts to rebuild and create better socioeconomic conditions for its citizens.

As Africa's oldest republic, Liberia has very little to show for itself. It lacks the infrastructure that a country as old as it should have. This is because considering the country's age and wealth in natural resources, it should have been, for all practical purposes, the most developed country in Africa. But like many other African countries, corruption and the inequitable distribution of wealth, poverty, illiteracy, political instability, war, and other ills of society have held the country hostage from achieving economic prosperity.

Presently, the new government seems to be making strides in bringing some form of economic development to the country but is still struggling to curb illiteracy, poverty, and corruption. In fact one of the major accomplishments of the Sirleaf-led government was the gradual infusion of information and communications technology in some areas of government as well as hosting the country's first national ICT conference. This conference also led to the creation of a national ICT policy draft to serve as the country's guide as it shifts toward a new experience leveraged by electrons and information.

The next section provides a brief discussion of postwar Liberia. I have omitted several historical details that have no bearing on implementation or the lack thereof of ICT in Liberia. My intent is to shed light on issues that will kindle a debate on ICT and not the complete history of Liberia.

Postwar Liberia—The Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS)

As peace and stability returned to Liberia, several postwar challenges have emerged. The issues of resettlement, rehabilitation, healthcare, education, national security, commerce, the environment, and other areas that are part of a country's recovery process present insurmountable challenges to the Liberian government as well as its people. Liberians have to tackle these challenges to ensure sustainable economic growth.

The election of a new president also brought about new plans to recover the economy. As part of her efforts to restore Liberia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's government initiated the Poverty Reduction Strategy Program (PRS), which was developed by stakeholders of the country, including representatives from the rural sectors, the IMF, the World Bank, and the Liberian government. "A Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) is a national document that analyses the causes for poverty in a country and sets out a strategy to overcome them. A Poverty Reduction Strategy is meant to be a national process steered by the government and involving domestic stakeholders as well as external development partners" (Newborne 2004).

Since the election of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia has made great strides. According to an article in The Economist, the country's national budget increased from $80 million in 2006 to $350 million in June of 2010, and this has persuaded the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to erase the country's external debt of $4.9 billion. "Monrovia is witnessing a building boom, with beachside resorts and blocks of flats springing up, along with some conspicuously grand mansions belonging to well-known politicians. Ms. Sirleaf has also freed Liberia's forestry and diamond sectors from UN sanctions and renegotiated a controversial contract with a steel giant, ArcelorMittal," the article reports (The Economist 2010).

Some Data on Postwar Liberia

The table below illustrates some important geographic and economic data of postwar Liberia.

Liberia is also making strides in the area of infrastructural development. Several new businesses have opened, roads are being paved, schools being built and opened, exclusive markets are being established, and so on. Basic amenities, such as running water, electricity, and telecommunications, are being restored. Of all these utilities, telecommunication has improved dramatically and has been a major source of revenue. Nationally, telecommunications have achieved overwhelming progress in the last ten years. Cellular phones have become primarily the most ubiquitous means of communication in Liberia. Internet penetration, while very slow, is also making progress as many organizations and businesses have started to gradually install new satellite equipment for Internet access in Liberia.

Overall, relative progress has been made in Liberia despite the gradual pace at which some sectors have been impacted. For example, information and communications technology (ICT), which is also included in the country's Poverty Reduction Strategy document, has experienced little progress, although it is a very significant area. The creation of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority, the development of a national ICT policy document, and discussions about connecting to a submarine fiber-optic cable are but a few of the developments that have been made in the telecommunications and ICT sector of Liberia.

There is no doubt that ICT will bring economic development to Liberia, although this will only happen if there is shift in paradigm in all sectors of the country. In addition, the full support of Liberian stakeholders and the willingness of Liberians to project into the future without hesitation will also play a major role in transforming the telecommunications and ICT sector toward economic development in Liberia. Most of all, political will and leadership must be attached to this endeavor because they are crucial to the economic development. There is tremendous hope for Liberia as it embarks upon a recovery process that will lead to sustainable economic prosperity.

Chapter Two

This chapter is primarily based on pre- and postwar knowledge of Liberia's telecommunications and ICT sector. What follows is my perception/vantage point of telecommunications and ICT in Liberia influenced by personal knowledge and experience, and I must therefore submit that there is a great possibility that some information others may deem important may not have been addressed or referenced; for this, I apologize.

This chapter is intended to introduce the reader to the major players in Liberia's telecommunications and ICT sector since they will be referred to throughout this book. Previously, they were referred to as the telecommunications sector, but since mobile operators emerged providing ICT services, the sector is now referred to as the telecommunications and ICT sector. I will explore the impact the five major players have on Liberia's telecommunications and ICT sector. These five major players include the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MoPT), the Liberia Broadcasting System, the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA), the Liberia Telecommunications Corporation (LIBTELCO), and mobile operators/Internet service providers. Of the five major players aforementioned, only the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, the Liberia Telecommunications Corporation, and the Liberia Broadcasting System existed prior to the civil war (Bernard 2004). The other two, Liberia Telecommunications Authority and the mobile/Internet service providers, emerged postwar. There will be limited discussion on the Liberia Broadcasting System; I choose rather to dwell on the other four players, since the context of the book relates to the nature of their operations.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from A Digital Liberia by Darren Wilkins Copyright © 2010 by Darren Wilkins. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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