Liberia closed the Liberian chapter of the Red Cross amid alleged misuse of funds, according to Reuters. The decision comes after President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s dismissal of Red Cross board members in response to the supposed spending abuse. Liberia’s economy has suffered due to an Ebola outbreak that wreaked havoc throughout West Africa. Over 4,800 Liberians died during the outbreak.
Liberia is a nation rich with natural resources including iron ore, gold, diamonds, natural rubber, vast forest for logging and timber harvesting, and vast agriculture land for ensuring food security. Yet like many of their African counterparts, who are equally rich in natural resources; corruption, global volatility and the “Dutch Disease” have left the country under the spell of the Resource Curse – turning Liberia from one of the fastest growing economies in the world, to one of the poorest and underdeveloped.
Liberia is a lower income economies coming under the Sub Saharan African region as to the classification made by the World Bank on the basis of income and region for the year 2006.
Agriculture is the most important part of the country’s economy. About 90% of the peoples in the country are engaged in this sector and more than 50% of the Gross Domestic Product of the country comes from agricultural activities.
Unfortunately, a large portion of Liberia’s economy was devastated because of corruption, poor government management, and civil war. Although many sections of the economy have been damaged, facilities and infrastructure were hit the hardest. During the tough times, several of Liberia’s established companies left the country and because they took knowledge and capital along, the economy experienced further damage. However, with the civil war ending and a new democratic government being elected in 2006, the majority of these companies have returned to Liberia.
