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Lessons from foreign investments in Liberia Recommendations:
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The policy recommendations focus on four basic changes in the handling of concession affairs by the Government of Liberia:
These four recommendations are highly interrelated. To implement the first one, the second should also be realized. Furthermore, both parties involved, Government officials and employees, and the foreign business community, can only work efficiently when Government policies are clearly formulated, making it impossible to interpret them in more than one way and when they cannot be tampered with, neither by Government officials nor by investors. This will also require less Presidential powers and more
involvement of a multi-party parliament guaranteeing a system of 'check and
balances'. In 1983 the President could change or adjust the concession policy at will,
parliament's role being one of approving it ('rubberstamp'). In the National Legislature conflicts of interests should no longer be allowed to exist. Thus,
legislators should not be allowed to represent any foreign (or national) company
or provide legal advice or assistance to such company. The quasi-disappearance of foreign investors as a result of the civil war may seem to make this recommendation redundant. However, the underlying principle is still valid. |
These recommendations are based on a study of Liberia's experience with
concession agreements granted to foreign investors which covered more
than 60 concession agreements. The study was originally published in
1983 and covered the 1900 - 1980 period. Liberia's Open Door Policy
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fpm van der kraaij
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