President Joseph Boakai has issued Executive Order No. 125, suspending importation tariff on rice, the staple food of Liberia.
The Executive Mansion said the Order is not only aimed at making rice more affordable for the Liberian people, but also at securing food sufficiency through enhanced agricultural productivity, which aligns with the President’s ARREST Agenda.
A press release from the Executive Mansion suggests that the suspension of the importation tariff on rice signifies the government’s commitment to addressing the crucial issue of food security in the country.
“By reducing the cost of rice, the government is working to make this vital food item more accessible to the population, particularly those who rely on it as a primary source of sustenance. This move not only eases the financial burden on citizens, but also supports long-term agricultural development and self-sufficiency,” the EM release said.
The release added, “President Boakai’s ARREST Agenda, with a focus on agricultural productivity, underscores the importance of strengthening the agricultural sector to ensure sustainable food production and availability. By aligning the suspension of the Importation Tariff with this agenda, the government is taking concrete steps to boost local agricultural practices and enhance food security for the Liberian people.
The release stressed that, overall, this Executive Order reflects the government’s proactive approach to addressing food security challenges and promoting agricultural development in Liberia, saying, “By prioritizing the affordability and availability of rice, the administration is demonstrating its commitment to the well-being and prosperity of the Liberian population.”
It can be recalled that as far back as 1987, President Samuel Doe, in an attempt to reduce the pressure on rice importers and dealers and the price of rice on the local market, lifted the tariff on the importation of the commodity and reduced the price of a 50kg bag of rice from US$24 to US$20, but soon, the price skyrocketed to US$35; something which brought the government to public ridicule on price control.
In 2018, following his ascendency as President, George Weah also lifted the tariff on the importation of rice and reduced the price of a 25kg bag from US$16 to US$13. But the price of a 25kg bag also skyrocketed from US$13 to US$20, something the Unity Party, in opposition at the time, campaigned on to unseat him in the November 14, 2023 runoff election.
Now that the Executive Mansion has announced the lifting of tariff on the importation on rice, and with the US$.25 reduction in the price of a 25kg bag, many Liberians have expressed economic fears that, like in the cases of Presidents Weah and Doe, the price of the commodity on the local market would arbitrarily be increased by importers and dealers across the country.
Some believe that the President’s intentions may be in the interest of the Liberian people, as expressed in the Executive Order, but many other businesses, especially foreign importers and dealers, would use the “No tariff” platform to exploit the local market.
“While I agree with President Boakai on the tariff-free importation, I am also afraid that those importing rice in the country will see this as an opportunity to carry the price high, just to make more profit from our local business people, like those selling in cups and on the tables,” Madam Korto Greaves observed.
“I want the President to set up a taskforce to monitor the implementation of the lifting of the tariff, so as to ensure that it benefits the ordinary Liberian, mostly those in rural communities,” Madam Greaves said.
“This is just another political free kick by President Boakai,” Lester Williams said, pointing out that no government has ever succeeded making it 100 percent tariff free on the importation of rice or other commodities in Liberia.
“Even the great George Weah did not succeed in lifting the tariff on the importation of rice, and I’m sure that this government will not make it. One thing that this President fails to realize is that these businesses, especially our Lebanese brothers, will use every available means, including our own Liberian businesses and government officials, to exploit the process and hack the price on the market,” Williams said.
For her part, a local street food seller on Lynch Street in Central Monrovia, Ruth Daward, said the situation of rice being sold across the country for high prices over the years has been an issue that concerns every administration, and ordering suspension on tariff is a great start because rice is the country’s staple food.
She said buying rice as retailer for high price has led to hard economic challenges because the investment into small businesses that sell food, like her, do not generate the needed resources that come into the market along with profit.
According to her, the President’s order should not only be a statement to the country because of public outcry, but a realistic approach to solve the many challenges that come with selling basic commodities with high prices on the Liberian market.
“We eat rice more than anything in this country and our history with rice is very much devastating. This is a call for good implementation of what the President has said, and we do not want to see it being politicized because one party wants to save their face at the detriment of the food we love so much,” she added.
In the same tone, Bejamin Paye asserted that the President’s decision is a wise one, most especially at a time that the country has experienced a huge inflation in the prices of consumable products on the market in recent time.
He said, if the order if properly implemented, Liberians will feel the impact on the reduction of the price on the local market, adding that the lifting of the tariff will lead to the reduction on other commodities on the market.
“Though rice is not a composite good, but when its price is reduced, other locally produced commodities such as gari, cassava, plantain, eddoes, and palm oil, will reduce on the local market,” Paye added.
Comfort Toe explained that the only way the President’s order can be achieved or implemented on the price of rice is to have a special taskforce that will not do ‘business as usual’ with the importers of the commodity.
According to her, other leaders have said things in the country during their different administrations but at the end of the day, there was nothing achieved because the stakeholders reduced themselves to the importing businesses, forgetting the interest of the ordinary people.
“The Executive Order is already out there, but I think we just have to see what it wants to achieve. The problem we see with these orders and decrees has to do with implementation, and that is what we see lacking. Only an independent taskforce can do the suspension of this tariff because officials will still do their business as usual and the price will remain the same on the market,” she opined.
