Monrovia – Liberian entrepreneurs have welcomed President George Weah’s commitment to support Liberian-owned businesses.
Report by Gerald C. Koinyeneh [email protected] & Augustine T. [email protected]
As they welcome his promise, they also called on him to make sure that existing laws intended to protect their businesses are fully implemented.
They spoke with this newspaper after President Weah’s historic inaugural ceremony during which he pledged his government’s commitments to the private sector and at the same time vowed to prioritize Liberian-owned businesses.
“As we open our doors to all foreign direct investments, we will not permit Liberian-owned businesses to be marginalized.”
“We cannot remain spectators in our own economy.”
“My government will prioritize the interests of Liberian-owned businesses and offer programs to help them become more competitive and offer services that international investors seek as partners.”
The Liberian Leader, however, assured Liberia’s foreign business partners that his administration will do all within his powers to provide an environment that will be conducive for the conduct of honest and transparent business.
“We will remove unnecessary regulatory constraints that tend to impede the establishment and operation of business in a profitable and predictable manner.”
Speaking to FrontPage Africa, several Liberian business executives are pleased with the President’s pronouncement.
They asked him to fully implement existing laws and policies protecting Liberian-owned businesses.
“I think that part of his speech sounded very great. Prioritizing Liberian-owned businesses will auger well for the economy because local businesses will grow. They will make an impact on the economy.”
“They will produce more products and commodities to be able to sell.”
“They can have lots of employments. As the results, people can grow and get better,” asserted Moore M. Lackay, finance manager of the National Toiletries Incorporated.
Lackay noted that that when Liberian businesses are given the opportunity to flourish, more Liberians will be employed and the economy will be boosted.
“We are producing tissues, toiletries and hundreds of thousands of similar toiletries are being imported, so we think there should be a policy to increase tariff on import to a maximum extent so that we can have the chance to slow import into the local market.”
“That is a very good aspect we need to look at.”
“There should be other systems and policies put in place that will empower local business owners in terms of capacity building so that they can have a genuine concept on how to build product structures and analysis for them to become better,” he stated.
Eyvonne Bright-Harding, CEO, SHARK’s Entertainment Incorporated added, “I am elated; I am sure that many of my colleagues are elated after hearing the President’s message. We welcome his idea to prioritize Liberian businesses.”
“We hope that the laws that already exist are fully implemented: laws concerning businesses set aside for Liberians.”
“Laws are already on the book to protect our businesses; but they are not being implemented.”
“We hope that he (President Weah) can prioritize their implementation by having good lieutenants around him.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which is the implementing arm, should do what is required of them,” Madam Bright-Harding noted.
The SHARK’s Entertainment boss named lack of access to capital as one of the challenges facing Liberian small and medium enterprises (SME).
She extended the call for the protection of Liberian-owned businesses to the other two branches of government—Legislature and Judiciary.
“They are many challenges; access to finance is of the major ones; followed by fair share.”
“Even the laws that are on the books including the one that calls for 25 percent procurement by government of Liberian businesses.
These laws are there, and need to be implemented. We need to be empowered to compete with our foreign counterparts, who have easy assets to finance and low interest rate and very good repayment terms,” she noted.
“So, we are asking the new government to please implement the laws concerning Liberian businesses. Give some priorities, make some concessions for us to thrive because we are making our fair share of contribution to the growth of the economy.”
She further stated that their foreign counterparts are competing with them in businesses that are set aside only for Liberians because the laws are not fully implemented.
Also speaking, Fredrick Sam Gibson, president/CEO of Uncle Sam’s Income Tax and Accounting Services echoed his colleague’s sentiments and called for unity amongst Liberian business owners.
“Another thing is that we are not united (Liberian Business owners).”
“All we need to do in my view is to create the conducive environment, may be have a combine marketing strategy that will glue customers to us that we all can benefit from instead of seeing each other as threats,” he urged his fellow entrepreneurs.