Guidance

Overseas Business Risk - Liberia

Published 30 May 2017

1. General Overview

Liberia, Africa’s oldest republic is bordered in the west by Sierra Leone, north by Guinea and east by Ivory Coast. Liberia covers an area of 111,370 square kilometres (43,000 sq mi) and has a population of over four million people approximately.

Historically, Liberia has some significant links to the UK. The UK was amongst the first countries to recognise the new republic in 1848. HM Queen Elizabeth II visited in 1961, British Prime Minister David Cameron visited in 201 and Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson visited in 2017.

Over the years, UK continues to play an integral role in Liberia’s growth and development especially in health, infrastructure, security sector reform, forestry, education, mining and governance.

2. Political

Liberia has enjoyed over a decade of stability since the end of the Civil war in 2003. Following two consecutive terms of Africa’s first democratically elected Head of State, Ellen Jonson Sirleaf. Liberia’s third, post-war elections slated for October 10, 2017, will be the first time in recent memory when a democratically elected Liberian president will hand over power to a similarly elected head of state.

There are plethora of Presidential aspirants joining the 2017 race against a background of low voter awareness and education, especially in rural areas. Liberians will be faced with a greater choice of credible candidates than at any other time in their history. Political stability remains fragile because of growing dissatisfaction with the government, pervasive poverty, corruption and lack of basic social services throughout the country. However all parties state they are committed to peaceful elections.

3. Human Rights

Liberia is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Despite all of these international instruments; access to justice, corruption in government, lack of transparency and accountability remain a serious challenge.

While Liberia’s constitution indicates commitment to freedom of speech, press and association, this is not always upheld in practice. However there has been improvement in the protection of freedom of expression, as evidenced by the creation of a number of independent media establishments and the passage of a Freedom of Information Act into law. There are also concerns about the human rights and treatment of particular marginalised groups. Other human rights violations include ritualistic killings, police abuse, denial of due process, violence against women, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, child abuse, human trafficking, and child labour.

4. Economy

Liberia remains a poor country with 64% of the population falling below the national poverty line (2007 data) , and 177th out of 188 countries on the 2015 Human Development Index . While there is some progress on MDGs, including on infant and child mortality, progress on others is lacking (e.g. education enrolment and sanitation) . However the government has demonstrated a commitment to pro-poor policy; 29% of 2016-17 draft budget is assigned to education and health, an increase from 25% in 2015-16 and 23% in 2014-15.

As a result of the Ebola crisis and falling commodity prices on the world market, economic growth fell to 0.2% in 2016 but is expected to accelerate to 3.5% in 2017. IMF have assessed that the government has responded appropriately by cutting spending, while protecting social sector spending.

Improved electricity access from Mount Coffee Dam which can now provide 88 MW of electricity will assist economic activity as will the extension of the electricity network under the Cote D’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone (CLSG) project within the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP) framework. The continuing road improvement programme will also be a boost to economic development. Gold mining will be a key driver of economic growth. Large investments and some downstream projects in the palm oil sector, which has attracted significant new investment in recent years, are also set to begin in 2018, including a 60 tonne/hour processing mill. Agriculture will register growth as the sector fully recovers after the end of the Ebola outbreak. Rubber prices are predicted to show some recovery.

According to World Bank Doing Business Survey 2014, Liberia has also improved in the last few years in terms of facilitating the starting of a business by eliminating business license fees. This has reduced the cost of business registration. In addition, the number of bureaucratic procedures for starting a business has been reduced, which means a business can now be registered in 2-4 days.

5. Bribery and Corruption

The GOL has established a number of transparency and accountability agencies including the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), General Auditing Commission (GAC), Public Procurement and Concession Commission (PPCC), and Internal Audit Agency (IAA), to curtail public sector corruption. In March 2015, the LACC rolled out its three-year Strategic Plan (2014-2017) that identified the commission’s roadmap to prevent corruption, enforce current anti-corruption laws and build institutional capacity to fight corrupt practices. The GOL plans to amend certain provisions of the LACC Law to give the commission direct prosecutorial power independent of the MOJ. As the current LACC Law stands, the commission can only prosecute alleged corruption cases with the approval or endorsement of the MOJ. Although the GOL continues to put anti-corruption mechanisms in place, corruption remains endemic in the Liberian social fabric, both in public and private sectors

For further information, please read the anti-bribery policy.

6. Terrorism Threat

For information, please see https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/liberia/terrorism

7. Intellectual Property

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has oversight responsibilities of Intellectual Property Rights in Liberia. The Intellectual Property System (IPS) of Liberia is made of the copyright and industrial property offices and line ministries and agencies of government are involved in intellectual property rights protection and promotion. These ministries and agencies are the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (marketability), the Ministry of Justice (enforcement), the Ministry of Finance (tax collection) and the Ministry of Labour (union protection/promotion). Prior to 1997, the copyright and industrial property offices formed part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and were referred to the Bureau of Copyright, The Trademark Archive.

The Ministry of Commerce Intellectual Property Advisors office coordinates Intellectual Property Rights Protection (IPRP) activities between the Copyright and Industrial Property Offices and line ministries and agencies of government to assure that artists, inventors, innovators and government benefit adequately from the marketing of intellectual property and artistic works.

For more information please visit http://www.moci.gov.lr

8. Cyber Security

Liberia is vulnerable to cyber attacks. In November 2016 one of Liberia’s main ISP’s experienced a cyber attack that necessitated them to periodically suspend service over a number of days.

9. Personal Security and Organised Crime

Petty crime is prevalent in Monrovia. Most crime is opportunistic theft, but there are organised criminal gangs. Thieves are often armed with knives or machetes, but occasionally also carry firearms. While Liberians are the main victims of crime, the relative wealth of international visitors makes them an attractive target for criminals. Avoid carrying valuables in public and be vigilant at all times, especially at night. Avoid walking anywhere in the city at night. Mobile phones and laptops are common targets of theft.

The Liberian National Police has very limited capability to prevent or detect crime, or to provide emergency response in any part of the country. Consider your security arrangements carefully before your arrival in Liberia. Make sure you are supported by a reliable organisation with a comprehensive and adequate security plan. Stay only in reputable accommodation with adequate guarding and other security arrangements, and arrange for transport for the duration of your stay, including travel to and from the airport. Roberts International Airport is around 30 miles from central Monrovia, much of the journey passing through rural areas.

For further information please see Foreign Travel Advice for Liberia

Organised crime is most commonly related to illegally trafficked goods and natural resources (gold and diamonds) and also illegal drug trafficking. The government of Liberia is committed to preventing transnational criminal organisations from gaining a major foothold in its territory but currently lacks resources and capacity to adequately respond to the threat.

Similarly they lack the resources the Central Bank lacks the resources to adequately monitor the banking system in terms of money laundering and terrorist financing although the situation is improving.