Mr. Jubah unveiled the machines to President Sirleaf 

Mr. Dennis poses with Malaysian contractors who built the plant

The rebirth of the Liberian economy has begun to reveal itself as citizens of the war-ravaged country collaborate to strengthen the private sector. Government's quest for a more private sector participation in the country's free enterprise economy has emerged. Some Liberia-owned private sector institutions operating in the country have begun to pump huge sums of high currencies to finance Liberian investments with ownership by Liberians. This is the case of the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI). The bank has leaped its investment into the extractive industry disbursing millions of dollars to support several large and small rubber holdings across the country.

The bank has disbursed more than US$1.3 million to fund the construction of a rubber processing plant for the Morris American Rubber Company (MARCO) in Morris' Farm, Todee District, Montserrado County. The Business and Economy column of this paper was part of a formal program hosted Tuesday by executives of MARCO to reveal the nearly completed US$2.5 million Rubber Processing Plant. With LBDI loaning US$1.3 million of this amount, the rest of the fund to construct the plant was being made available by the shareholders of MARCO and the Morris' family headed by Mr. Bill Morris, son of the late Harry Morris who was a productive rubber farmer.

Mr. Francis Dennis, Jr. is the President of the LBDI. He was in attendance during the program where he reiterated his bank's commitment to supporting investment activities that would strengthen the private to drive the economy.

It is not just the Liberian Bank that supported this project, Mr. Dennis stated, it is a Liberian bank supported by over 30,000 Liberian depositors. He expressed his gratitude for the plant and called on other Liberians to save their money with LBDI to enable the bank to fund other projects across the country. “I am very proud that we can go there and mobilize resources from within to finance this project,” Dennis said.

He told the gathering that the bank's support for the MARCO Processing Plant shows that Liberians can do something on their own while seeking donors' funds to implement other programs. The Liberian banker called his countrymen and women to join his bank by opening accounts and pull resources together to expand investments in the country. “Join us today and you be funding your own projects or projects that would create more jobs and improve our economy,” he pleaded.

“We are grateful to the President not because she is the President of Liberia but for the fact that she had for the past eight years contributed immensely to the success of the Morris American Rubber Company. She has been fighting very hard to ensure that this rubber processing plant is constructed and completed on Morris's Farm. I remember, and I'm proud to say that had it not been her effort, solely there would have been Morris Rubber Incorporated because they own the rubber farm but there would have been no Morris American Rubber Company (MARCO).

“Her effort in 2000 to bring this corporation together and to talk to all of the partners and shareholders that make the company to be where it is today,” he added.

Earlier, the Managing Director of MARCO, Keith Jubah, thanked LBDI and the shareholders of the country for funding the project. Mr. Jubah also offered special appreciation to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for her tireless efforts in making sure that the plant was build.

“Had it not been the cash provided by LBDI, we would not have been here today. And had it not been the enormous sacrifice of President Sirleaf, there would have been Morris' Rubber Farm but there would have been no rubber processing plant here,” Jubah noted.

Mr. Jubah assured President Sirleaf as well as the LBDI that management team believes that the construction of the plant is just the beginning.

He said his company was looking up to the next step of processing raw rubber material (latex) into finished product right here in the country.

“It is now about time that we Liberians move to the next step to produce all levels of tiers for export and participate in the export economy. That is the only way we will build our economy,” noted Jubah who once served as Chairman of the Public Procurement and Concession Commission (PPCC).

However, Jubah complained about the high tax regimes being implemented by the Ministry of Finance. He told President Sirleaf about the negative impact of the tax regime on poverty reduction as well as the growth of the domestic economy. Mr. Jubah called on Government to forego some taxes if it were to achieve poverty reduction and as well, expand the economy for growth.

The Liberian rubber expert believes that by government's action to give investment incentives to Liberian Businesses, the domestic private sector will grow and that poverty will be something of the past.

“I hereby appeal to you to understand that if we want to expand our economy, we need to give some incentives to investments that would expand our economy especially to Liberian businesses,” noted Jubah.

In his intervention, Agriculture Minister Dr. Christopher Toe said the construction of the pant is good news. If you build a factory and add value, you have increased the prospects for economic development and growth. You would have also contributed to employment, an additional income generating capacity and that you would also contributed to food security, Dr. Toe noted. Deputy Finance Minister Tarnue Marwolo described the project as a “worthy investment” and called on other Liberians to follow same.

As for President Sirleaf, the rubber plant is a dream come true for her Government's strives to make the economy a largely Liberian-owned private sector driven one. She thanked MARCO and plant and applauded the LBDI for funding the project.