A Railroad Is Not Just A Rail And A Road

Just concluded a visit from his eminence, Guinea's interim Prime Minister Jean Marie Dore.
Here is the story in the Observer:
http://www.liberianobserver.com/node/8885

We are pleased about the good relations and the discussions. But people let's think about this...

To move four billion tons of high-grade iron ore through Liberia is no small thing. The proposed railroad option is what cooks this soup! All other options for Guinea are far, far inferior.

As we have been saying for years Liberia needs to wake up to the economic development opportunities. GROWTH WITHOUT DEVELOPMENT should never happen again. From the top of Mount Nimba to the Port of Buchanan will be a fantastic number of chances to taste this soup. A Railroad is not just a Railroad. It requires a long term commitment for operation and maintenance. That means support for bridges, rails, roads, and equipment. This will be jobs, housing, schools and infrastructure development.

Are the people of Nimba and Bassa going to be left with dry rice toped with the red dust of Guinea or are we going to enjoy the soup!

Anthropogenicagent

Liberia: Just two of 22 candidate countries

Liberia will not be left behind in the twenty-first century, see the story below.


Transparency program results 'dismal'

March. 9, 2010
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ShareWASHINGTON, March 9 (UPI) -- Participation has been "dismal" in an international program designed to show how nations profit from oil, gas and mining, human rights activists said.

Just two of 22 candidate countries met Tuesday's deadline to fulfill basic requirements for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Human Rights Watch said in a release.

Azerbaijan and Liberia met the filing deadline while Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe were among the countries that did not.

The lack of participation raises serious doubts about the commitment to disclose revenues, said Arvind Ganesan, a spokesman for Human Rights Watch.

"It's easy for governments to sign up for the initiative and claim they are open about the money they earn from lucrative natural resources," Ganesan said. "But the proof is in whether they actually do what they promised, and so far the results have been dismal."

The initiative, supported by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, was created to help combat corruption and mismanagement in energy-rich countries.


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