No matter how myopic or cynical we may sound to you on our position here, the passage by the Liberian Government of the then illusive control drug and substance act of 2023, will make no difference in the fight against illicit substances, unless the Government enforces it without fear or favor.

Just recently, Finance and Development Planning Minister Samuel Tweah unremorsefully confessed that he has been lenient with his fellow members of the President’s cabinet, who were not submitting their respective monthly budgetary reports as required under the law, because they were all his friends.

There are many other laws that are on the books, but are being flouted by some top-notched officials of the government, like the Finance Minister, on the basis of friendship and partisanship against the overall interests and benefits of our nation and its people.

Secondly, the new drugs law will make no difference unless the government prioritizes the operations of the Liberia Drugs Enforcement Agency (LDEA) and other related security agencies by handsomely paying their personnel and providing them with the requisite logistics and benefits they need to be efficient.

Does the Government expect an underpaid and poor LDEA officer or a border security personnel to resist the temptation of bribery when he or she is broke, thirsty, hungry and wearing a faded uniform and an old dilapidated pair of boots?

There are many instances in which LDEA officers raided ghettoes and arrested illicit drug dealers, users and the drugs, but allowed them to go with impunity because they could not resist the temptation of bribery.

While we agree that no matter how well or handsomely you may pay these officers, there will still be bad apples, augment their salaries and benefits to minimize the act of bribe taking in the security sector.

Today, there are still more  questions than answers about what must have happened in the case of the US$100 million worth of drugs that were confiscated at the Freeport of Monrovia and the circumstances under which individuals that were accused of bringing in the consignment of illicit drugs were set free. While we dare not question the authority of the court that found no fault with the alleged traffickers, there are some Liberians and others, who still believe that the case went the way it did because there were big names and hands behind the importation of the consignment of drugs.

Their perception is predicated upon the fact that it is highly impossible for an ordinary citizen or group of ordinary people to bring, through the Freeport of Monrovia, such a huge consignment of illicit drugs. It was the same scenario with the huge consignment of arms and ammunitions that were discovered at the same Freeport of Monrovia.

Since then, no one has been arrested in connection to the arms and ammunitions.

Can anyone believe that an ordinary citizen or group of citizens would be brave to bring through the major port, being manned by the government security guards and port’s security guards, such a consignment of arms and ammunitions?

This is why we doubt the new drugs law will make any difference unless the government demonstrates a high degree of sincerity in the enforcement of the law. Until then, we rest our case.