Natural resources are often seen as the foundation of national wealth. Countries with gold, diamonds, iron ore, forests, fertile land and abundant water are expected to prosper. Yet Singapore and Liberia show that resources alone do not develop a country. Good governance determines whether national assets improve the lives of ordinary people.
By Dr. Emmanuel King Urey Yarkpawolo
Good governance means honest leadership, strong institutions, respect for law, proper management of public money, long-term planning and accountability. Unlike gold, timber or iron ore, good governance is not exhausted when it is used. It becomes stronger through consistent practice and can produce wealth for generations.
Singapore: Creating Wealth Through Governance
When Singapore became independent in 1965, it had almost no commercially significant natural resources. The Monetary Authority of Singapore records that the country had no natural resources and no established industrial base. Instead of accepting poverty, its leaders built resources that people could create: effective institutions, education, discipline, public trust and a productive economy.
Singapore developed a professional public service in which qualification, competence and performance mattered. Government institutions received clear duties, and public officials were expected to produce results. The country also made fighting corruption a national priority. Its Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau was strengthened, and anti-corruption laws were firmly enforced. Public office became a responsibility, not a license for personal enrichment.
Singapore also practiced long-term planning. National plans were connected to budgets, responsible institutions and measurable targets. The government invested in education, technical training, housing, healthcare, sanitation, water and transportation. It established clear and predictable rules for business and actively attracted companies that could create jobs, transfer knowledge and support industrial development.
The results were remarkable. The World Bank reports that Singapore’s economy grew by about 7 percent annually on average after independence and by approximately 9.2 percent during its first 25 years. Its GDP per person reached about US$98,814 in 2025. In roughly six decades, good governance helped transform a resource-poor country into a high-income economy.
Liberia: Rich Natural Resources, Limited National Wealth
Liberia presents a painful contrast. We have iron ore, gold, diamonds, timber, rubber, fertile soil, fisheries, abundant water and vast forests. We can produce rice, cassava, cocoa, coffee, oil palm and many other crops. These resources should provide jobs, revenue, infrastructure, and better living conditions. Yet World Bank data place Liberia’s GDP per capita at only about US$915 in 2025, less than 1% of Singapore’s GDP per capita of approximately US$98,814.
The problem is not a lack of resources. It is our failure to convert them into broad and lasting prosperity. Liberia has exported rubber, minerals, timber and agricultural products mainly as raw materials. Other countries process them, create jobs and sell finished products at higher prices. Liberia receives only a small share of their final value.
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai deserves appreciation for taking executive action to change this pattern. Executive Orders Nos. 151 and 166 restricted and later banned the export of unprocessed natural rubber, while encouraging domestic processing into products such as tyres, gloves, footwear and adhesives. This is an important move toward local manufacturing, job creation and value addition. It must be supported by reliable electricity, financing, technical training and fair enforcement so that Liberian businesses can succeed.
What Liberia Can Learn
First, competence must become the foundation of public service. Liberia already has a useful model in the President’s Young Professionals Program, which recruits talented university graduates and places them in government institutions for training, mentorship and service. A few of the young professionals assigned to the Environmental Protection Agency have demonstrated exceptional discipline, leadership and capability. Their performance shows that Liberia has talented young people who can strengthen government when selection is based on merit and they receive proper guidance.
Second, fighting corruption must go beyond speeches. Accountability institutions must be independent, properly funded and allowed to investigate without political interference. The law must apply equally to senior officials, businesspeople and ordinary citizens.
Third, national plans must continue beyond one administration. Priorities in education, agriculture, infrastructure, industrialization and natural-resource management should be tied to budgets, timelines and publicly reported results. Natural-resource agreements must also be transparent, professionally negotiated and firmly monitored.
Finally, Liberia must invest resource revenue in people and local production. Rubber should support manufacturing, timber should produce furniture, agricultural goods should be processed locally, and minerals should create supporting industries and technical jobs.
Singapore teaches us that good governance is practical national wealth. Liberia does not need to discover more resources before it can develop. We need capable institutions, honest leadership, merit-based service, consistent planning and firm enforcement. The greatest resource of a nation is not what lies beneath its soil, but the quality of governance exercised above it.
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