“Liberia must stop allowing its natural resources to leave the country with limited local processing and economic benefits,” prominent Liberian political figure Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe has told President Joseph N. Boakai.
Cllr. Gongloe, also the Political Leader of Liberia People’s Party (LPP), urged the Boakai administration to turn the country’s mineral and forest wealth into jobs, industrial growth, and improved living conditions for citizens.
In his latest Opening Commentary posted over the weekend, Gongloe presented what he described as a practical solution to Liberia’s economic challenges: expand domestic processing of gold and timber, strengthen local manufacturing, and ensure that the country’s natural resources create tangible opportunities for Liberians.
Gongloe also urged Boakai to prioritize domestic gold refining and greater Liberian participation in the mining sector, citing earlier proposals by former Mines and Energy Minister Wilmot Paye on revised mining fees and local participation, as well as a recent proposal by Minister R. Matenokay Tingban for domestic gold refining.
He argued that the proposals deserve the President’s support and should become central to his administration’s national transformation agenda. “Liberia’s natural wealth must become a source of prosperity for its people,” Gongloe added, emphasizing that government policies should be judged by whether they improve the lives of ordinary citizens.
According to him, Liberia can draw lessons from Ghana, Tanzania, and South Africa, where domestic processing, technical expertise, and enterprise offer models for extracting greater economic value from natural resources.
The LPP leader maintained that commercially viable and responsibly managed gold refining could create jobs, generate government revenue, and expand opportunities for Liberian businesses and skilled workers.
Beyond mining, Gongloe called on the Boakai administration to extend its value-addition strategy to the forestry sector, proposing a practical timetable for ending exports of unprocessed logs.
He said such a policy must be supported by investments in electricity, wood-processing facilities, and vocational training to ensure that Liberians possess the skills and infrastructure needed to manufacture finished products locally.
Rather than exporting timber in its raw form, Gongloe wants Liberian workers to transform the country’s wood into school desks, hospital furniture, household products, and other manufactured goods.
He called for government procurement policies that support competitive local manufacturers, arguing that public spending should help expand domestic production and ensure that the benefits of value addition remain within the country.
Gongloe envisioned a thriving “Made in Liberia” furniture industry that could create jobs, stimulate local enterprise, and become a lasting legacy of Boakai’s presidency.
To underscore the potential of such an initiative, he recalled Greenville’s plywood industry during the administration of former President William R. Tolbert, presenting it as a historical example of Liberia’s capacity to develop industries around its natural resources.
The renowned Liberian lawyer stressed that industrial expansion must not come at the expense of Liberia’s environment and the communities that depend on its forests and rivers. Cllr. Gongloe called for stronger environmental protection, effective enforcement of land-restoration requirements, and sustainable forestry practices to ensure that economic development does not result in irreversible environmental damage.
His proposal places responsibility on the government to balance industrial growth with environmental protection while ensuring that resource-dependent communities benefit from economic activities taking place on their land.
Gongloe framed his recommendations as a constructive appeal to the President, maintaining that criticism of government should also include practical proposals capable of helping the administration succeed.
He urged Boakai to seize the opportunity to build an economy in which Liberia does more than extract and export raw materials. “Leave a legacy of smiling Liberians: resources transformed, Liberians employed and nature protected,” Gongloe appealed.
While Gongloe’s commentary outlines a policy direction rather than a detailed implementation plan, its recommendations point to the need for clear timelines, supporting infrastructure, technical training, investment, and enforceable environmental safeguards if domestic processing is to deliver the promised benefits.
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