Monrovia — The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts and Audit, Senator Amara Konneh, has challenged the Unity Party led-Government of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to reset incentive structures and dismantle the safety nets of "big hands "involved in the trafficking of cocaine and other illicit drugs in Liberia.
Senator Konneh alleged that some senior individuals from the past and current governments are involved in the trafficking of drugs to the country.
He observed that though the recent crackdowns, arrests, and public destruction of narcotics, especially cocaine show that the government is finally pushing back against these destructive forces, stopping the flow of illicit drugs goes beyond the burning of cocaine.
His assertions were contained in a statement released on his official Facebook page on Sunday, August 2.
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Discover moreHistoryCity & Local GuidesPolitical Senator Konneh, who is representing the people of Gbarpolu County in the 55th National Legislature, disclosed that preventing the flow of cocaine and other dangerous substances in Liberia is about resetting the incentive structure around the drug trade.
"It's about cutting off the safety net for the "big hands" inside the system who use their offices to cover the costs of the moral hazard."
He maintained that until the personal costs of corruption outweigh the illegal profits, "the cartel's invisible hand will keep knocking on our door."
He stated that accountability needs to reach the very top.
Act quickly
Senator Konneh used this medium to commend President Joseph Nyuma Boakai for his recent actions to dismiss and suspend several top state security officials and others linked to the recent cocaine busts in Liberia.
However, he called on the Liberian leader to do more and act quickly to shift both the "invincible hand" and "moral hazard" in Liberia's drug fight.
He justified that President Boakai must take additional actions because, the illegal drug trade often behaves like a waterbed: press down in one area, and the market pops up somewhere else.
Quoting a new empirical evidence from a study conducted by researchers at Stanford University, Senator Konneh pointed out that crackdowns changed trafficking routes and tactics, but didn't reduce cocaine supply, purity, prices or moral hazards.
Compromising the fight
He said enforcement shifts the trade more than it shrinks it, but when those entrusted with that enforcement are compromised, winning the war becomes a wild goose chase.
He noted that a nation cannot wage a successful war on drugs when those responsible for guarding its borders and institutions are quietly facilitating traffickers.
"You cannot secure the gates if the gatekeepers are compromised. Genuine reform involves dismantling the safety nets that let corruption thrive. That's why we believe there may still be senior individuals--both current and former--within the system who could be enabling the "moral hazard" in Liberia's narcotic trade."
According to him, the recent massive US$336 million cocaine bust and interceptions at the Roberts International Airport, followed by the burning of 4.2 metric tons of drugs outside Monrovia, tell a different story and shows how economic forces play out in the dark underbelly of the Liberian society.
Senator Konneh emphasized that when borders are weak, demand is high, and oversight is poor, the invisible hand of global crime guides multi-ton shipments straight to the Liberian shores.
He added that they would now see Liberia as a logical transit route because the conditions are right.
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"These same conditions, in turn, give rise to "Moral Hazard," where individuals take big risks because they believe someone else will cover the costs if things go wrong. Some top security and other government officials--some recently charged or dismissed--fell into that trap, believing they could protect or foster drug networks with impunity. They gained short-term benefits while our youth, communities, and the very
fabric of our country, including its reputation, suffered long-term consequences. They gambled with our future, feeling shielded by their uniforms or positions."
Meanwhile, Senator Konneh has urged Liberians to desist from politicizing ongoing efforts to combat against drugs trafficking in Liberia.
"To my fellow citizens on all sides of the political divide, politics may be war by all means, but Liberia's drug fight is no politics! This is a fight for the soul and future of our nation. And it is far from over!"
