During the opening session of the recent Liberian Annual Diaspora Conference in Washington, DC, Dr. Emmett Dunn, Chairman of the Conference Committee, spoke briefly about trust as a foundation of national development. His remarks stayed with me. He described how a Liberian living abroad might send money to a relative or friend in Liberia to purchase land and construct a house, only for that person to divert the money and send photographs of someone else’s house as evidence of progress. He cautioned against such dishonesty and the damage it causes.
By Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo
As I reflected on his message, I thought about the expression “sand in the wheels of development.” Wheels allow a vehicle to move forward. Sand entering its moving parts creates friction, wears down the machinery, and can eventually bring movement to a halt. In national development, the wheels are the activities that move a country forward: investment, trade, production, employment, and cooperation. When deception destroys confidence in these activities, distrust becomes the sand. Money may be available, opportunities may exist, and people may be willing to work, yet progress slows because they fear being cheated.
Economists Pierre-Guillaume Méon and Khalid Sekkat examined a related question in their 2005 article, “Does Corruption Grease or Sand the Wheels of Growth?” They considered whether corruption helps economic activity by allowing people to bypass inefficient institutions or obstructs development. Their findings supported the “sand in the wheels” argument: corruption harmed investment and growth, and its effects tended to worsen where governance was weaker. Their study did not directly examine the everyday deceptions I discuss here, but its central question offers a useful lens through which to consider Liberia’s development.
As a Liberian who has lived and worked in our country, I raise this concern out of love for Liberia and a desire to see it prosper. The construction experience described by Dr. Dunn points to a broader challenge that deserves our honest reflection. While many Liberians conduct their affairs with integrity, acts of deception in everyday relationships and business dealings can erode trust, discourage investment, and slow our collective progress. Addressing these practices is part of our shared responsibility to build a stronger and more prosperous nation.
Consider what happens when money intended for a house is diverted. The immediate victim loses savings accumulated through years of work. But the loss extends further. A construction project that could have employed masons, carpenters, electricians, and laborers fails to materialize. Suppliers lose potential sales, transporters lose business, and a family loses the home it planned to build.
The victim may then decide never to invest in Liberia again. Others who hear the story may reach the same conclusion. Even honest contractors and trustworthy relatives face suspicion. Future investors may spend more on travel, inspections, and supervision, or abandon projects because verifying every step becomes too difficult. The person who deceived one investor has therefore helped create obstacles for many others.
Recently, a woman told me that she bought a bag of charcoal and transported it to town. When she examined it, she discovered that more than half the bag consisted of charcoal dust that was useless to her. She had paid for usable charcoal but received a bag whose apparent quantity concealed its poor contents. This was another act of deception.
For a household with limited income, that loss matters. She had spent money on the charcoal and its transportation, yet received much less usable fuel than expected. She might have to buy more, reducing the money available for food, school expenses, or other necessities. If such practices become common, buyers lose confidence in sellers. Honest traders also suffer because customers become suspicious of everyone’s goods. A seller’s short-term gain can weaken the market on which many livelihoods depend.
Another area worthy of reflection is how prices are communicated in everyday trade. Customers may sometimes receive different quotations based on assumptions about their purchasing power, including whether they arrive in a car or on foot. While bargaining is a familiar part of commerce, clearer pricing based on a product’s quality and value can help prevent misunderstandings, promote fairness, and strengthen trust between buyers and sellers.
Prices can legitimately differ because of quality, quantity, transport costs, or negotiation. Bargaining itself is not deception. The concern arises when some sellers misrepresent the usual price, invent costs, or exploit a customer’s lack of information while pretending to offer a fair transaction. When buyers expect this treatment, even an ordinary purchase requires prolonged bargaining and checking with several sellers. Commerce becomes slower and more exhausting, and confidence in the marketplace declines.
These examples reveal a common problem: some people exploit information or responsibility entrusted to them for personal gain. The relative knows whether the house exists or does not. The charcoal seller knows what has been packed into the bag. The trader knows whether the explanation for a price is truthful. The other person must depend, at least partly, on their honesty.
When that dependence becomes dangerous, people restrict their dealings to a small circle, avoid unfamiliar businesses, or keep their money away from opportunities they might otherwise support. Time and resources go into protecting against deception instead of producing goods and services. Distrust becomes an added cost on economic life.
Addressing this problem requires both personal responsibility and dependable institutions. Families must stop excusing the misuse of entrusted money because the offender is a relative. Traders must describe their goods honestly and explain prices truthfully. Construction arrangements should have written agreements, documented expenditure, and payments linked to independently verified progress. Buyers need practical ways to raise complaints and seek remedies.
Public institutions must make honest dealings easier and accountability more reliable.
These responsibilities complement the duty to confront corruption in our country. Public and private officials, businesses, and citizens all influence whether promises can be believed and agreements can be trusted. Each has a role in making Liberia a country where people feel confident to invest and transact.
Dr. Dunn’s message deserves to travel beyond the conference hall. Every act of deception may appear small, but when it makes others afraid to invest, trade, or trust, its economic consequences extend far beyond the immediate victim and may affect national development. Liberia’s wheels of development need the confidence that allows people to commit their money, labor, and hopes to a shared future. We help those wheels turn whenever we keep a promise, deliver what we were paid to deliver, and protect what someone has entrusted to us.
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