Progress but Unacceptable Levels of Insecurity

Progress but Unacceptable Levels of Insecurity
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201006251120.html

New Democrat (Monrovia)

Tom Kamara

25 June 2010

At the emerging and modern University of Liberia Fendell campus, Chinese workers and contractors have reportedly thrown their hands in despair. The level of theft of materials is just too high by any standard. There is absolutely nothing they can do to curtail the spiralling theft with impunity at the campus. That is the responsibility of the government, and with so many security institutions on which taxpayers money along with public resources are dumped, there are opportunities to make a difference where there is the will.

Law books meant for students and research at the University, according to reports, have mostly disappeared in private homes. It is not certain if questions have been asked with the need for action. Accepting crime in any form is a dangerous option.

Current figures of armed robberies are not available, but if they are down, then the downward spiral is just a drop in the bucket. Insecurity is still a way of life, a phenomenon that the war ensured as an acceptable factor.

The attack on the Monrovia home of Nimba County Superintendent last week is another indicator of the pervasive levels of insecurity. More ominous is that this attack carries all the imprints of politically motivated crime with the use of ex-fighters, now readily available to anyone with the means of rewarding them financially. Political crimes that rocked this country as a bastion of evil are again propping up their ugly heads. If a high-ranking member of the government can be a target with impunity, then there should be no questions about the helplessness of many ordinary living with insecurity in their communities. No one is safe.

The argument is that there can be no appreciable levels in investment without improved security. The cost of hiring private security firms, some of them with key government security officials as owners, is becoming a prohibitive with a rising tax regime, particularly for small and medium-scale businesses. Earnings that could go into investment are passed on as protection fees, not security. This is not sustainable and it is certainly a far cry from ensuring a vibrant private sector proclaimed to be the engine of the economy.

Along with rising power costs resulting from expensive generator reliance, the signals of insecurity are not encouraging. There is a need for action, assertive action that gives hope.

That action has to be based on firmness not tears, within the confines of the law. Whatever the pitfalls within the judicial system, and there are certainly several, governments have at their disposal several avenues through which arresting insecurity is possible. But if political interest and consideration outweigh the need for tougher action in dealing with pervasive crime, the long-term dangers should be considered.

We believe that policymakers have the responsibility to use public resources for public safety, since one of the fundamental responsibilities of governments is protect all under their rule. Taxes are paid to ensure this.

But the levels of insecurity prevailing, and the accompanying impunity, should lead to creativity and imagination for improving public safety.

Both the UN and other international organizations have called for a security blueprint for post-UNMIL life. Such a blueprint, we believe, should go beyond flowery pronouncements to deal with the realities of a wounded society in which crime has been so handsomely rewarded, with pronounced criminals as political leaders and role models. This should be done before it is too late for all.