Sinoe County Senator, Crayton Duncan, has called on Liberian intellectuals to rethink the way they perceive national leaders and focus more on external forces bent on draining Liberia’s wealth and undermining its development. Speaking on Wednesday, October 1, at the Center for Exchange and Intellectual Opinions (CEIO) on Carrey Street, Monrovia, Senator Duncan challenged educated Liberians to stop solely branding national leaders as corrupt while ignoring what he described as the systematic exploitation of Liberia’s natural resources by Western companies. “The only way this country is going to change is if you join a revolution – the economic liberation of this country,” Senator Duncan declared. “Countries like Ghana, Vietnam, China, and Rwanda, have improved the livelihoods of their citizens because they took economic liberation seriously. We must do the same.”
The Senator criticized long-standing concession agreements with foreign companies, citing examples where Liberia receives “three cents on every dollar” from resource extraction deals. He pointed to ArcelorMittal, Bea Mountain, and other concessions, arguing that billions of dollars are being generated annually while Liberia receives only a fraction in return. “When Bea Mountain made $800 million last year, how much did Liberia get? Less than $30 million,” Duncan asserted. “For every $1 billion, we get only $30 million. Not even $100 million. And yet, our intellectuals remain silent.” He accused successive governments of bowing to what international institutions call “best practices,” which he believes serve as cover for exploitation.
Senator Duncan said intellectuals bear responsibility for shaping national discourse and must stop prioritizing leaders’ personal lifestyles over structural issues. “You only care about what car a senator drives or how much salary he makes,” he said. “But the real wealth our gold, our iron ore, our rubber is being taken right before your eyes. You don’t talk about it.” He further argued that intellectuals are quick to echo Western narratives that paint Liberian leaders as corrupt while failing to question why Liberia’s wealth benefits outsiders more than its citizens. Duncan warned that concession agreements, like the 15-year contract with “Coming” (a mining company he referenced) with an extension of 50 years, risk leaving Liberia impoverished after its $18 billion gold deposits are exhausted. He recalled Liberia’s role in helping other African nations to gain independence, stressing that the nation once provided diplomatic passports to freedom fighters across the continent.
Today, he said, Liberia has slipped to “the bottom of the list” because of poor resource management. While acknowledging corruption at home, Senator Duncan insisted that the deeper issue is Liberia’s dependence on foreign interests and the silence of educated citizens who should be leading an “economic revolution.” “If 80% of your poverty is caused by external exploitation and only 20% by internal corruption, why you are only focused on the 20%?” he asked. “Liberia is not poor. It is about how we manage our resources.” He urged Liberians to stop expecting the West to build roads, hospitals, or schools, recalling that the same powers once enslaved Africans and cannot be trusted to lead their liberation. Senator Duncan also highlighted his own efforts in Sinoe County, including the dedication of a new high school, an elementary school, a clinic, and the donation of three buses for students.
He announced support for a revolving loan scheme aimed at empowering small businesses, stressing that it would be monitored to ensure repayment and sustainability. In closing, Duncan reminded his audience that Liberia’s future lies not in blaming leaders alone, but in uniting to demand fair resource deals and fostering a homegrown economic revolution. “Stop hating your own kind,” he urged. “Stop waiting for the white man to build your future. We must change the way we think. Intellectuals must lead the charge.”
Author: Zac T. Sherman
