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exploited this situation by saying that it justified the
necessity to have an expatriate staff who could perform the
vital tasks. This greatly contributed to the inequality which
characterizes the Liberian society and its economy. The
distribution of income is closely related to the distribution of
educational possibilities and facilities. Any amelioration in
the latter is immediately, directly or indirectly, reflected in
a more equal distribution of income.
What exactly has been the role and/or contribution of foreign
investors in the training of manpower in Liberia?
Their impact on the development of the country's manpower can
be divided into two categories:
(1) an indirect impact as it enabled the Government of Liberia to
finance educational, vocational and technical training
programmes with the funds provided by these foreign investors
(taxes, profit-sharing, and/or donations - whether or not of
a political nature). The size of this impact depended of
course on the amount of money transferred to the Government
but also on the latter's (educational) philosophy and its
(political) priorities.
(2) a direct impact where it directly financed schools operating
within its concession area, training programmes which were
designed to respond to the needs of the company, and/or
scholarships abroad as well as in Liberia. Given the
political nature of the Liberian society the question "Who
benefited from these opportunities?" is inevitable and even
necessary to evaluate this impact in a broader socioeconomic
context. As on-the-spot-training and practical
experience acquired during employment are of great importance
the companies' recruitment policy should be included in our
investigation. This recruitment policy (of nationals) is in
turn closely related to the Liberianization Policy (with
respect to employment only) referred to above.
The answer to the question "Why did the foreign investors come
to Liberia?" is of fundamental interest in our investigation.
What the LAMCO J.V. and the Bong Mining Company are at present
doing with the Vocational Training Centers in Yekepa and in
Bong respectively is not likely to be a transfer of technology
aiming at the gradual take-over by Liberians of the exploitation
of their country's natural resources. The two companies have
created these centers as they will contribute towards a
considerable reduction in the company's labour cost: expatriate
workers are more expensive than locally hired nationals.
The same interest of foreign investors explains why there is no
relationship at all between the foreign companies (rubber and
oilpalm plantations, iron ore, gold, and diamond mining
companies, logging companies) and research institutions or
associations in Liberia (though the latter are almost absent).
The Firestone Plantation Company's research center depends on
Americans. A re-inforcement and/or development of Liberian
research institutes would render Liberia less dependent but
would make the position of the foreign companies more vulnerable.