The_Open_Door_deel1

-409-
were politically well covered. No large-scale action was ever
undertaken against them. In the light of the foregoing it is
hardly surprising that in Liberia no reliable data exist on
vehicle registration, number and value of imported vehicles, and
on gasoline consumption^.
Lastly, Liberia's road network was mainly financed by
international loans. It is noteworthy that despite the important
increase in Government Revenues - a considerable portion of
which was the result of the "Open Door Policy" as we saw in
Chapter 10 - the Government was not able to finance the
expansion of its road network from the funds accruing to it from
the foreign investors. Their financial contributions to the
Treasury mainly served the financing of ever increasing amounts
of recurrent expenditures. Among the main money lenders were the
U.S.A., the I.B.R.D., and (later) the Federal Republic of
Germany. Another considerable number of road construction
projects was financed by supplier credits. Road construction and
maintenance •activities in the 197O's may well illustrate this.
In 1973 a Five Year Road Maintenance and Development Programme
started. Total costs of this Programme were initially estimated
at $ 38 million, the greater part of which would be financed
with loans and grants from financial institutions and donor
countries (28).
Unfortunately, the "O.A.U. fever" affected Liberia's road
construction programme, and the execution of the Five Year Road
Maintenance and Development Programme in particular. The
priority of the Tolbert Administration was shifted to O.A.U.
related projects. The nation's capital city was given a "face
lift": existing streets were improved, new ones were built, and
more and more streets were provided with (new) lights. The
Government could not obtain foreign funds for these activities
and paid for it from its own sources - but to do so it had to
resort to (commercial) borrowing (see also Chapter 10).
A two-lane (1,400 ft.) bridge across the Mesurado River in
Monrovia was constructed, financed by the I.B.R.D. (costs:
$ 6.7 million). The bridge which connected the administrative
and commercial centre of Monrovia with the road leading to the
O.A.U. village in Virginia was meant to ease the traffic
situation in the capital by providing a second entrance to
Bushrod Island, The road leading to the O.A.U. village was
improved which cost the Liberian Treasury $ 5.8 million.
From Vaitown bridge - prior to the Johnston Street Bridge across
the Mesurado River the only bridge leading from "down town
Monrovia" to Bushrod Island - to the Free Port a six-lane drive
was constructed, narrowing to a four-lane drive from the Free
Port to the Caldwell Road (29). The stretch between the
Caldwell Road and the Tubman Bridge crossing the St. Paul River
consisted of a two-lane drive. Also a second bridge was
constructed across the St. Paul River, next to the old Tubman
Bridge » Further, a 24 miles road between the new bridge over
the St. P.aul River and the O.A.U. Conference Center was built,
as well as a portion of the Monrovia - Bomi Hills road.
Although the last-mentioned road had an important economic