Investor's Tragedy...Contrasting Story of Holiday Inn Hotel & Investment Climate

No doubt, the massive publicity of government relative to radically reforming Liberia 's decadent investment climate is spreading like wildfire in the desert, with giant billboards being planted here and there. The apparent intent is not only to disabuse national, multinational and transnational concessionaires about Liberian commerce which has gained notoriety over the years for being saddled with corruption and injustice, but also to subsequently woo foreign and domestic capitals to the post-conflict economy of the country.

But there are analysts who think the government's invigorated pro-investment climate publicity could be likened to whitewashing a dumpsite if much is not concurrently done to correct past and present evils of the country's investment misdeeds and give solace and reprieve to longtime partners in progress. Reporter Ora Garway reports the tragedy of Hotel Day Inn Hotel, a clear example of a backlog of cases that sharpen contradictions of government's renewed commitment to give investors amiable looks.

“You cannot claim to love God whom you cannot see when you hate your brethren who are with you.” This assertion of Jesus Christ is loudly telling in the fate of one of Liberia 's tourism pioneers, Holiday Inn Hotel, the giant enterprise, though charred, on Carey Street in Central Monrovia .

The Government of Liberia, in the last few days, has begun erecting giant size billboards to announce areas of reforms in the Liberian commercial sector, promising to complete a couple of deliverables--21 reforms--in just four month.

But the common question being asked by citizens reading and passing by the billboards is, “How does the government translate those promised reforms into concrete justice and reprieve for old-time ‘partners in progress' who are nursing deep wounds from the cruelty and injustice sustained.”

One of the victimized businesses that came to mind in talking about the government's pro-business public relations and justice in the Liberian commerce is the Hotel Day Inn, which opened its doors to the public in 1975 having been dedicated by President William R. Tolbert.

A tour of the Hotel complex saw at their worst man's inhumanity to man and the state's neglect of and apathy to the woes of investors.

Since it was reported that unknown men on July 11, 2005 set fire on the hotel, which was a tourist home of countless VIPs from around the world, not much has been heard, specifically from official circles.

The fire incident came amid controversy of claims and counterclaims over ownership and/or lease formality.

Public Agenda has gathered that the mater has been lingering at the Temple of Justice , while the proprietor, Liberia 's former Ambassador to Lebanon , H. M. Jawhary, is left to lament the façade of justice.

Speaking to a number of residents living around the vicinity of the Hotel, Public Agenda established that both the fire attack on the hotel and the lingering pace of justice have impacted the lives of many.

“The Hotel was a source of employment for many of our children for years before its fatal fate,” said Lemuel K. Duncan, an elderly resident on Carey Street . “As a result of the condition facing the Hotel, life has been very dull for those of us whose children are put out of job.”

Another resident, Morris Toure, Jr., who took Public Agenda on a guarded tour said: “There are several disadvantages that have come with the collapse of Holiday Inn. Besides the fact that it has taken many Liberians home to play idle games with their families, the dormancy status of the Hotel has increased criminal rate on Carey Street and nearby communities.”

Toure said at night, the abandoned charred structure plays host to prostitutes and hardcore criminals.

“From the time Holiday Inn was gutted by fire, it continues to play host to crops of prostitutes, nocturnal villains and overgrown grass,” he said. “This Hotel which used to provide electricity that kept bad men and women away is itself part of the problem of fanning criminals, particularly at night.”

“We don't sleep in this area,” said another resident who refused to disclose her name. “During the night hours, we usually hear people crying in the building. We actually don't know what government is doing to resolve the problem facing the Hotel so that we will rest our minds in this community.”

A youthful interviewee, Pete Z. Kerkulah, told Public Agenda that the Holiday Inn Hotel case was a litmus test to the political will of the Sirleaf government.

“I say the case is a litmus test because this is a government that professes to be investment-friendly and is doing everything to paint a good picture of its investment image,” Pete said in violent gesticulation. “How can the government match its expressed investment climate reforms with what is happening to longtime private sector partners like Holiday Inn Hotel? How is the government ensuring that its justice system conforms to its reform initiatives?”

Pete, who is business student at the University of Liberia , opined that reforming the country's tattered investment atmosphere is utterly useless in the absence of an aggressive and virtuous judiciary system.

“Look at the tragedy that is being endured by Holiday Inn Hotel, for instance,” Pete said further. “This is an enterprise that holds commitments to its clients, not to talk about the need to recover from long years of shock caused by war. When would the owners get off the legal quagmire before they begin to rehabilitate a multimillion dollars enterprise?”

He said the government should not take solace in the current publicity gimmicks aimed at attracting investors until they demonstrate urgency in granting reprieve and justice to investors already on the ground.

“It would be folly to bask in the fantasy that investors will come in this country to invest millions of dollars merely on the basis of billboard messages,” Pete said. “We must not forget to realize that potential investors largely take cue from what is obtaining in the country as it relates to the plight and fate of their counterparts already on the ground as opposed to splendidly designed billboards and their messages.”

Calling on the Sirleaf Administration to make a special probe into the Holiday Inn Hotel saga, Pete said, “This is important because we cannot pretend to be good to incoming investors when those that sacrificed and suffered during difficult conditions in our country are not treated fairly and friendlily.”

It was be recalled that the Holiday Inn Hotel is one of several businesses massively looted and left bare; recovered and re-looted by various warring factions during the civil conflict.

The Hotel's epic deeds enter Liberia 's history when the management of the Hotel opened its doors to thousands of embattled civilians during one of the worst warring period, the so-called World War III of Liberia.

That was time when, according to eyewitnesses, the Hotel was inundated by swarms of women and children without cost to them. Other Liberian VIPs also sought refuge at the Hotel.

Though the proprietor, H. M. Jawhary snubbed interview, he was tempted by pressure from Public Agenda to say, “Look my friend, when the appropriate time comes I will respond--and I will respond to this whole saga decisively. Just give me sometime, maybe after the case which is in court. That is the time I will call all journalists in this country to tell them something they will be surprised to hear.”

He continued: “I came to this country 45 years ago, and had all my children here. My sweat is here. And, by God's power, no one will be allowed to treat me like an animal.”