Monrovia – As global aid declines and geopolitical priorities shift toward “country-first” policies, Liberia must urgently rethink how it manages its natural resources or risk long-term economic stagnation, according to social researcher Dr. Clarence R. Pearson, Sr.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh
Dr. Pearson says Liberia is entering a decisive moment in its history, one shaped by the fading era of generous donor assistance and the rise of more transactional global partnerships. In this new environment, he argues, small economies like Liberia can no longer rely on goodwill but must build disciplined systems that convert national assets into sustainable national capacity.
“At this point, natural resource governance is no longer a technical sector issue,” Pearson notes. “It has become a national survival question.”
IMF Warning Raises Red Flags
Pearson’s analysis comes amid concerns raised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the feasibility of Liberia’s US$8.4 billion ARREST Agenda, warning that the financing plan could threaten macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability if not recalibrated.
The IMF has urged Liberia to scale down and prioritize projects, avoid excessive non-concessional borrowing, strengthen domestic revenue mobilization, address institutional weaknesses, and maintain fiscal discipline under the Extended Credit Facility.
Pearson agrees with the IMF’s caution but stresses that the real challenge lies deeper than budget arithmetic.
“The question is not whether Liberia should be ambitious,” he argues. “The question is what domestic financing engine replaces aid as it declines.”
Natural Resource Flight and a Budget-Poor State
According to Pearson, Liberia’s biggest missed opportunity lies in what he describes as “natural resource flight”—the systematic export of raw materials with minimal local processing, weak domestic linkages, and significant profit repatriation.
Iron ore, gold, timber, rubber, and agricultural commodities leave the country largely unprocessed, he notes, exporting jobs, skills development, and long-term economic value along with them. At the same time, illicit financial flows, under-declaration, and transfer mispricing continue to drain revenues needed for public investment.
“This is how a country becomes resource-rich and budget-poor at the same time,” Pearson warns.
Strong Laws, Weak Economic Power
Liberia has enacted several post-war reforms, including the National Forestry Reform Law, the Community Rights Law, the Land Rights Act, and participation in LEITI transparency mechanisms. While these laws restored credibility and addressed conflict-era abuses, Pearson argues they failed to translate legal progress into industrial growth.
“Liberia has laws,” he said. “What it lacks is conversion power—the ability to turn resources into industry, skills, jobs, and a middle class.”
Extractives as an Industrial Training Ground
Pearson contends that Liberia’s extractive sector must evolve from an enclave economy into what he calls an “industrial classroom”—a system that builds skills, supports local manufacturing, and creates upward mobility.
He outlines a phased approach beginning with domestic procurement and services, advancing to industrial fabrication and maintenance, and ultimately moving toward value addition and beneficiation, including agro-processing and downstream manufacturing.
“This is how technicians, engineers, supervisors, and local suppliers are produced,” he said. “This is how a middle class is formed.”
Education Must Follow Industry
Pearson also criticizes Liberia’s education-to-employment disconnect, arguing that generational development planning must link concessions to mandatory skills and apprenticeship programs, technical certification, and TVET partnerships.
“Raw-export economies produce graduates for scarcity,” he said. “Value-add economies produce graduates for demand.”
Warning Against Taxing the Poor
As aid declines, Pearson cautions against shifting the development burden onto ordinary citizens through higher consumption and income taxes in a non-expanding economy.
“Increasing taxes without expanding production punishes the poor, shrinks demand, and contracts the economy,” he said, adding that struggling market women, teachers, and small business owners should not be asked to finance billion-dollar plans while locked out of economic opportunity.
Instead, he argues, natural resources—not citizens—must carry the first burden of development.
Call for Bold Legal Reforms
Pearson is calling for a new generation of bold natural resource management laws, including mandatory value addition, citizen equity participation, local procurement thresholds, anti–illicit financial flow enforcement, and standardized community benefit agreements.
He insists that only through resource sovereignty, forced industrialization, and skills-driven growth can Liberia make its development agenda viable.
A Question of National Survival
Pearson concludes that Liberia’s future depends on whether it continues exporting raw wealth and importing development—or finally converts extraction into industry and ambition into lasting national power.
“This is not radical,” he said. “It is sovereignty with discipline.”
