Monrovia – The appointment of Morley P. Kamara as Economic Advisor to the President, announced last Friday, came as a surprise to many. In previous years, the post has been occupied by the likes of Emmanuel Shaw, Augustine Jarrett, and Charles Bright.
By Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]
Not much is known about Kamara. He informed FrontPageAfrica that he is a graduate of Rutgers University-New Brunswick (undergraduate Economics) and has an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the Wharton Business School.
Kamara says he has previously worked in Angola from 1995 to 1998; the Great Lakes Region (Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda) from 1998 to 2000; Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2000-01 before returning to college – the Wharton School for an MBA.
In those roles, Kamara says, the common narrative among the companies is that they had depressed economies. “Today they are all thriving. The situation in Liberia is way more complex. These countries had a large educated population; Liberia doesn’t have one. Sustainable development in Liberia will take time. Imagine at one point Liberia’s GDP per capita was comparable to Japan. All of that evaporated because the government never developed the human capital.”
FPA asked Mr. Kamara for a photograph, but he says, while he is a very private person who does not like attention, he would provide one soon. “I guess it comes with my role. An advisor should stay in the background. We promote our principals.”
Kamara says he is a member of Wharton’s alumni chapters in New York. “Our members include the Trumps, the CEO of Mittal Steel – Aditya Mittal.”
In 1998, Kamara says he was a former economic advisor to Benjamin William Mkapa, who was the third President of Tanzania – from 1995 to 2005.
In 1995, Mkapa was elected as president based on a popular anti-corruption campaign and the strong support of former president Julius Nyere. Mkapa’s anti-corruption efforts included the creation of an open forum called the Presidential Commission on Corruption (Warioba Commission) and increased support for the Prevention of Corruption Bureau. On his LinkedIn page, Kamara says he served for less than a year working on Supply Chain with a United Nations project in 2009.
His second five-year term of office as President ended in December 2005. During this term in office, Mkapa privatized state-owned corporations and instituted free market policies. His supporters argued that attracting foreign investment would promote economic growth. His policies won the support of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and resulted in the cancellation of some of Tanzania’s foreign debt.
Mkpapa was criticized for the ineffectiveness of his anti-corruption efforts as well as for his lavish spending. He spent £15 million on a private presidential jet, as well as almost £30 million on military aviation equipment from BAE Systems, which experts deemed beyond the limited needs of the country’s armed forces. It was over the latter purchase that British International Development Secretary Clare Short expressed public outrage, resulting in her becoming known as ‘Mama Radar’ in the Tanzanian press.
While it is still unclear what actual role Kamara will play in the Boakai administration, one insider told FrontPageAfrica he could be at loggerheads with Finance and Economic Planning Minister Boima Kamara (no relations).
The new Senior Economic advisor to the President reportedly has strong ties to President Boakai as well as former Speaker Alex Tyler. Interestingly, President Boakai has also created a Deputy Minister for Budget and Finance in the Ministry of State while there exists a Deputy Minister of Budget at the Ministry of Finance & Development Planning. Analysts say it is a good team for Boakai to put together a strong economic team to oversee the work of LRA, Ministry of Finance, and CBL.
It will also be interesting to see how President Boakai’s economic team copes as the government prepares for a crucial stretch toward its first 100 days in office.