By Amb. Aloys Uwimana, Contributing Writer bihira2002@yahoo.com
The idea of division of Nimba County into two or three counties allegedly attributed to some defeated candidates in the 2017 Legislative Election has generated diverse reactions, some reasonable and nuanced and some emotional in this northeastern county of Liberia.
According to the last national population census, Nimba is the second most populous county in this West African state.
Before I go any further to discuss the tile of this article, let me bring up two important clarifications. The first clarification is that in life, no idea, issue or problem should be considered as a taboo.
No idea a taboo
Rather, it should lead to a reasonable and scientific approach to indicate its merits and demerits for a potential remediation to or improvement in a situation. This clarification is obvious since the creation of new counties and other political subdivisions is a prerogative of the Legislature as provided in the article 34a of the 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia.
In addition, there are precedents of counties, namely Gbarpolu, Grand Kru, River Cess and River Gee, which were created from divisions. The second clarification is that any citizen has the right to express his or her opinion on any local or national subject, raise suggestions, and make proposals, provided this exercise is conducted in the framework of the law.
By doing so, the citizens are exercising their freedom of speech, which, by the way, happens to be one of the universal human rights.
Thus, emotional reactions that the idea of division is stupid, idiotic, naïve or harmful to the unity are neither constructive nor respectful to others’ points of views. In my opinion, they aim at creating fear in the people’s minds in order to stifle issues that may be pertinent or constitute a threat to personal interests.
This a reminder of what transpired during the Presidential Election campaign when some candidates strongly argued that the election of George M. Weah as President will bring war back to Liberia, result in chaos and drive away the International Community and the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
I wonder if those candidates really believed in what they were saying. Did they believe that if George Weah were elected President, Total will leave Liberia, Arcelor Mittal will cease operations, International NGOs will relocate to other countries, and the American Embassy will close down? These institutions will remain here no matter how, because they have interests.
Some compelling issues in Nimba
In order to seriously and usefully discuss the issue in question, it is important to firstly draw a simple diagnostic of some compelling issues facing Nimba County today.
These are economic and endowment (natural resources) disparities; unequal distribution of the population, basic services facilities and infrastructure; a deplorable road network; mismanagement of natural resources; misappropriation of physical and financial resources; and a questionable leadership.
There is a consensus among scholars of Development Economics that these constraints are some of the numerous handicaps to local and national economic development in the underdeveloped nations. Liberia and Nimba are not exceptions.
Generally speaking, if the division of Nimba can contribute to the resolution or mitigation of those constraints, then it merits consideration. Of course, this conclusion does not lead anywhere unless its sustaining condition is proved.
Since, in fact, the process of creating new counties is a legal issue as stated above, a scientific approach to the division of Nimba that would convince the Legislature to exercise its prerogative is needed.
Such an approach, I believe, will have to determine the political, economic and social benefits of the division. Thus, the purpose of this article is to outline some key elements of a possible approach or strategy that would help especially those in favor in the defense of their cause.
If I have understood, the main argument of those favoring the division is the job opportunities. This argument may be relevant and pertinent but needs to be substantiated by a study. Such a study should show projections on the number and quality, where possible, of jobs that would be created both in the public and private sectors with a clearly-defined time frame.
While the calculation of the number of jobs that would be created in the new county(ies) administration(s)does not seem to cause any problem, that of jobs the private sector would create may be challenging but not impossible.
Decentralization
About the job creation in the new public administration(s), I would advise those in favor of the division to approach the issue under the angle of decentralization. This means that the creation of a new entity or entities would increase job opportunities and bring the authority closer to the people.
Decentralization- deconcentration, political decentralization and fiscal decentralization- as envisaged in the National Policy on Decentralization and Local Governance will not completely solve all the problems of large counties like Nimba.
The size of Nimba, the level of the public personnel, means of communication including transportation, and the road network condition, among other constraints, remaining unchanged, one Assistant Superintendent for Development, one County Inspector, one County Development Engineer, one Labor Commissioner, and other county high ranking officials cannot properly cover the entire county.
One may ask how many times a year these officials visit such areas like Butuuo, Gbi-Doru, Zekepa, and so on.
There is, however, an alternative that those against the division may seize: the model of two offices the National Elections Commission has put in place, one for Upper Nimba and one for Lower Nimba. Specifically, the posts of the aforementioned high ranking officials and others would be duplicated in Lower Nimba. In any case, any decision should be taken following a cost-benefits analysis.
The other significant argument of those in favor is the mobilization of more financial resources. Again, the study referred to above should give a clear indication on the level, types and sources of those resources. This study may take the form of SWOT- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats- Analysis or the form of a survey and referendum that would climax in the petition either directly to the Legislature, if law permits, or through the County Representatives. The latter may be risky as some of the County Representatives may not be in favor of the division.
To conclude on the current discussion on this issue of dividing Nimba, I would like to say a word on the position of those who have vehemently refuted it. In my view, they have neither articulated their arguments except saying that no jobs will be created and no funds will be raised.
Their main argument seems to be the preservation of the county unity, dignity and power conferred to it by the size of its territory, population and endowments. In this regard, some questions have been raised: “Is Nimba County united and reconciled”? “Is it exercising the power the three attributes- territory, population and endowments- confer to it to play a major role on the national political arena”? It is up to you readers to answer these questions.
The other argument is that the counties created and mentioned above have not developed. This argument is not also immune from criticism. Before any comparison, attention should be paid to the circumstances in which those counties were created and what the motives, criteria and objectives were.
Nimba has probably advantages the counties that were divided did not have. These include a better geographic location, a high level of economic activity, abundance of natural resources, human capital and a relatively dense infrastructure. The timing may also be a crucial advantage.
Meanwhile, I would not speculate on the outcome if the petition to divide Nimba reached the Legislature. One may, however, wonder whether the might-be dormant misconceptions and animosity of the majority of the rest of the country towards Nimba, as well as the might-be hidden jealousy against the claimed power of Nimba would not resurface and cause the majority of the Legislature to seize the opportunity to weaken Nimba.
About the author: Amb. Aloys Uwimana teaches Economics, French and Public Administration at Nimba County Community College in Sanniquellie City. He can be reached at Cell phone Nos 0777 778 034 or 0888 644 125 and at bihira2002@yahoo.com