The_Open_Door_deel1

XIV
development of rural Liberia, inhabited by tribal people, i.e.
the Hinterland (see above). In other words, which development
took place in rural Liberia as a result of the operations of
foreign investors?
The second criterium is based on a statement which President
Edwin Barclay made in his Second Inaugural Address (1936):
"It cannot Le supposed thai we will continue to submit
to undue economic and political exploitation. Our people
(.,.) must have an effective share in the Lenefits
which accrue from the development of our resources, a
reasonaLle return from their laLour and a monopoly of
the avenues of employment within the Country. (...) (14)
It will therefore focus on the relationship between the Gross
Domestic Product and the Gross National Product of Liberia.
The third criterium concerns an often repeated wish of President
William Tubman: the equitable sharing of benefits of
foreign investments between the concessionaires and the Liberian
Government'
"{jou possess technological know-how and capital, Ue possess
consideraLle natural resources which we are willing
to share. Uorking together, can be of immeasurable benefit
to Loth of us. Ue in Liberia believe that Lusiness
is entitled to an equitaLle share of the profit it makes,
(...) (15).
This criterium will therefore concentrate on the revenue generating
aspect of the foreign investments and special attention
will be paid to the problems underlying the diffusion of these
benefits.
The fourth and last criterium is the transfer of technology
which results from the operations of a company from a developed
country in a country which is technologically and economically
less developed. It seems logical that an invitation to foreign
investors to fill a gap in another country can only be explained
at the same time or justified when long-term objectives are formulated
and pursued by the host country to develop its manpower
and to create and develop the necessary infrastructure and institutions
- handled by its own people - whose absence or underdevelopment
prevented the exploitation and use of the country's
productive capacity by its nationals.
In other words, the ultimate goal would lead to a situation in
which foreign capital and manpower were no longer needed.