Chance to live in peace again
 

Climbing Costs of Rent in Stagnant Wages
By J. Yanqui Zaza

2 May 04

With peace gradually returning, one threatening problem in the country, particularly in the capital, is rising costs of rent. With salaries stagnant for decades as the Liberian dollar fell from 2 to 1 against the US dollar and now over 50 to 1, not even a minister’s salary is adequate in paying rent for a zinc shack one bedroom in slum areas going for US20 per month, which is over LD1, 000. 

Concerns in Monrovia indicate that the cost of living in the burnt-down city fuelled by the high cost housing, have become unbearable and might breed disenchantment, and subsequently violence. Costs of rent are climbing with depressed salaries hardly paid. A case in point is the cost of a zinc shack since U.N. peacekeepers arrived. It has jumped from U.S. $5.00 to U.S. $20.00 per month. Family searching for house required paying anything between U.S. $ 5,000 to $18,000. per annual, a jump from U.S. $3,000.00 just less than a year ago. This astronomical increase in the cost of renting, without any economic growth, besides huge profits preferred by landlords, is to say the least, dangerous. Our country is far from normal in economic and security terms hence, it is good for everyone, including investors to contribute to this fragile stability. Landlords, aware of the fact that most people are unemployed, and even those who are, have yet to receive their arrears, and, or regular pay, should focus on the long stability of the country and not on quick huge profits.

With no appreciable infrastructure because of the civil war, and lacking any incentives to invite labour intensive investment, the country has unemployment rate of more than 70%. The lucky few who are employed find it difficult in making ends meet. Government employees’ wages ranging from U.S. $20.00 for average employees per month to U.S. $50.00 for minister have not kept up with the increase in cost of living. More so the increase in high cost of housing, which leads to high cost of living, is affecting many residents of Monrovia. Further, residents complain that cutthroat landlords are now requiring that tenants pay cost of housing in U.S. currency although government pay wages in Liberian currency. Many breadwinners have to juggle between on the one hand sending children to school, hospital or buying items of necessity and on the other hand paying the cost of housing.

Unfortunately, while ordinary residents are unable to pay for necessities, few members of the interim government are living a glamorous life. Augmenting their meagre salaries with kickbacks and travelling per-diem, privileged officials’ attitude appeared to be insensitive to the economic hardship of residents who are hardworking, committed, and diligent. If ordinary residents continue to live at the edge of survival without any remedy at end of the tunnel, while few privileged officials continue to live large, it would difficult to sustain the minimal peace achieved by the international community.  

By now it is quite clear that the cause of the civil war that lasted for more than fourteen years is due to struggle between those who have and those who wish to share in piece of the pie. Therefore, w hile it is not late, members of the international community should not only encourage child soldiers to disarm, they should also focus on one of the primary culprits, unbearable cost of living, of the fourteen-year military war. They should help in encouraging cutthroat landlords in charging tenants fair and equitable price for housing. The rush by real estate investors to cash in on the shortage of affordable housing is unfortunate not only for poor tenants, but the stability of the peace process. It is unfair since the real estate investors are cashing in on an investment that is more than twenty years old.

The chair of the interim government, Mr. Bryant made his views clear that “market forces” would be the shot caller on real estate issue, and that as long as it concerned private landlord, he won’t dare intervene. He made the remarks at the Town Hall Meeting in Staten Island, U.S.A. during his recent visit. More so, Mr. Bryant, who comes from the business community, showed his nonchalant attitude toward landlords’ decisions and eviction of underprivileged tenants replaced with U.N. tenants. His views indicated that he doesn’t care about the repercussion, or he’s a man in collusion with investors. I dare say he’s not cognizant of the repercussion, since he experienced the fourteen year-civil-war.

Governments of capitalist countries, in many instances, rightly so, intervene and prevent or correct market forces in deterring bad investors from inflicting wounds on the economy. Officials do not   allow profiteers to exploit unchecked or uncoordinated market economy and do ensure that super profiteering has no adverse impact on the economy. If government does not restrain profiteers, the vices of wrong economic decision would adversely impact long-term economic activities, thereby undermining the gains achieved through the sweat and blood of many peacekeepers and peace-loving citizens.

The current government lacks the resources, funds to build affordable houses that could reduce the cost of housing in Monrovia. However, officials could either use existent or new regulations or appeal to the goodwill of landlords. The government could also provide tax abatement to real estate investors as incentives for maintaining equitable prices for different shelters