 PRIVATIZATION |
"The government has pronounced privatization as one of its main undertakings" declares Mrs. Amelia Ward, Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs. The Liberian government has never minced words about its intention to privatize some key public service entities such as the Liberia Telecommunications Corporation, the Liberia Electricity Corporation and the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation.
Also up for grabs on a joint venture basis with the Liberian government are the country's only international airport and the domestic airports, its leading seaport in the nation's capital and the public transportation service.
The government is already working out a divestiture plan along with mainstream international bodies or groups that exude authority in the privatization processes. For instance, the Liberian government has worked with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) on privatizing telecommunications in Liberia.
Out of that collaboration came a blueprint entitled: The Liberia Telecommunications Reform, which is the result of an assessment mission in the sector. The report recommends the first action to be implemented as liberalization, followed by privatization and then the creation of an independent regulatory agency.
| The government has already liberalized the telecommunications sector as evidenced by the establishment of at least three private telecommunications companies in the country in about three years, and the introduction of modern technology in the sector. Two cellular phone operators, one GSM, an Internet operator and a "wireless loop", are among the new faces under the liberalization scheme.
All of the public corporations and government parastatals were established by Acts of the National Legislature (parliament) to which the government has made representations for the repeal of the Acts for the privatization process to proceed.
Once the authorization is given, the National Investment Commission (NIC) will be the main agency of government presiding over the processes of privatization, according to Liberian President Charles Taylor.
"If not total privatization, maybe there could be some joint ventures or whatever, but I think it is open on the table," President Taylor points out. |
