An Opened Recommendation to Government of Liberia

Over the past few months, the Government of Liberia (GOL) has expressed the desired to get the Mount Coffee Hydro up and running. I have read and heard about it requiring over two hundred million United States dollars to achieve. The strategy one uses in designing a system determines its cost.

If GOL wants to make good on this huge task of national interest, I recommend a Liberian with many years of experience working to keep a hydro operating right here in Liberia and he is in charge of ensuring that Firestone Liberia meets its power supply. The individual is Patrick Brown. With our government full support, Patrick can restore our hydro. GOL should negotiate with Firestone Liberia and lure him. He has what it takes to do the job.

Patrick manages a team of Liberians operating and maintaining Firestone Liberia hydro. This brother worked for LEC for many years at Mount Coffee. He knows the facility well. I believe GOL should use him and give him all the support to address the problems at our hydro. Patrick knows what it takes to keep a hydro functional. I am so convince that he will save us money; not cost been throwing around here. Patrick commanding his team of Liberian engineers and technicians at the Firestone Liberia hydro

Mount Coffee hydro is like an old vehicle you have left to die and you get to realize its importance to you and your family. You need to take your children to school, hospital, you need it to get to work and other places. You can’t afford a new vehicle. The most practical approach is to do those things that will make your vehicle to move once more from point A to point B. This will require getting a mechanic to tell you that.

Let assume it is your vehicle engine, body and tires. I believe you would start with getting a good engine; making sure it starts firing. You are able to start driving it. You find some money and get tires here and there. Later on, you get the body work done. Now you have your vehicle in good shape to serve you and your family. This is how I see Mount Coffee.

We have the infrastructures in place. It will require getting components to replace the damaged one. It will require doing some civil works to repair those breached areas. Let no one tell you that Liberians can’t do this job. Our fundamental problem is we put our trust in foreigners. We do not develop our own. We protect the foreigners when they have performed poorly. We are too hard on ourselves. Thereby leaving our people underdeveloped, unemployed and very poor; making foreigners rich.

It is time that we start prioritizing ourselves. I heard the Minister of Finance talking about providing energy to our investors. Why should we worry about them at this time? Let them carry their own load like Firestone Liberia is doing. We are poor. We are being helped by our friends from around the world. These investors have the money to build their power supply. Let them do so; Not us poor country.

Let make sure we address our own needs first, and then we can worry about them. Let get one of the turbines at Mount Coffee running, then two, then three, and then all four. We are sleeping in darkness and you are worry about people with everything. Use our tax dollars wisely to gradually restore Mount Coffee. And it can be done by ourselves.