Upon arriving in Liberia early this month, I’ve heard a lot of chatter on radio talk shows about how patronizing President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s cabinet has become.

Apparently, cabinet members are in the habit of flocking to the airport in droves to receive the president as she arrives from international trips and presenting her with expensive gifts and envelopes full of cash.

It has become a tradition for officials to abandon their day-to-day functions to bow to the president as she returns home in search of job security.

The most recent form of officials seeking political patronage happened when the president was presented with an envelope full of US$7,000 as she arrived home from an international trip a few weeks ago.

Embarrassed by the revelation of this corrupt practice, the president warned her cabinet to refrain from showering her with gifts. She returned the money to Gender Minister Julia Duncan-Cassel with instructions that the cash should go to Ebola survivors and orphans.

Though the president did the honorable thing in declining the money, admonishing the cabinet, and suggesting that the cash be put to good use, I wonder if any survivors or orphans of Ebola will ever see a penny of that money. After all, as evidenced by this and other “gifts” to the president when she arrives at the airport, corruption is a fact of life at the highest level of government.

Money intended for infrastructure or the public good is routinely plundered as it makes its way through various levels of Liberian bureaucracy. 

How many bureaucrats stand between the Gender Minister and the Ebola survivors? Who will be held accountable to see that the money does, in fact, get put to good use?

The fact that Roberts International Airport is the setting for the cabinet’s numerous attempts to lavish the president with gifts hit home with me as I had just landed there. In fact, the airport provides an interesting glimpse of corruption in Liberia. 

Not only do we have the president’s inner circle publicly showering her with gifts as soon as her plane touches down, but it’s also common for airport security officers to harass passengers arriving at the airport for cash.

I experienced this firsthand when I arrived at the airport and was asked to open my two suitcases. This is a common practice at most international airports these days, and I didn’t think twice about complying. As I attempted to open my suitcases, the officer whispered in my ear, “Are you a Liberian? You must be new here because other people usually give cash to avoid this headache.”

You can almost visualize the bribes moving from one pocket to the next as corrupt security officers shake down passengers and cabinet members scramble to ensure their longevity by wooing the president with welcome home gifts.

I’m not saying the security officer would freely share his take with the cabinet as I’m sure he had his own plans for spending whatever money he could procure through bribes. His job security might even be at stake, and a portion of his take probably goes toward ensuring his employment. That’s the way it works in Liberia.

Though the security officer assumed I was new to the country, this certainly wasn’t my first personal encounter with requests for cash to “avoid the hassle” or “speed the process along.” As a Liberian and frequent traveler to Liberia, I know all too well that money talks in this country.

The incoming passengers to Roberts International Airport aren’t the only ones who receive whispered instructions and flagrant requests for cash. According to Transparency International’s 2013 Global Corruption Barometer report, most respondents had paid bribes to officials for various services over the previous 12 months. For example:

• 77 percent paid a bribe to Judiciary

• 77 percent paid a bribe to Police
• 75 percent paid a bribe to Educational Services

• 62 percent paid a bribe to Tax Revenue

• 55 percent paid a bribe to Utilities

• 51 percent paid a bribe to Registry and Permit Services

• 42 percent paid a bribe to Land Services

• 40 percent paid a bribe to Medical and Health Services

Though airport security wasn’t specifically listed in the Global Corruption Barometer report, I’d say it’s right up there in terms of areas for routine, corrupt practices in Liberia.

While the cabinet members patronize President Johnson-Sirleaf with gifts and cash at the airport, it’s generally understood by returning Liberians that a little something under the table will help them move through security more quickly (and if it’s not, a whispered reminder will set them straight). They also know that should they get pulled over on the drive home for a violation either real or imagined, a small bribe to the police officer may be all that’s needed to continue on. Sadly, these examples are all too common and just the tip of the iceberg.

The president was embarrassed by the cabinet’s excess at the airport, as she should be. But she should also be embarrassed by the airport’s security department’s routine harassment and shakedown of passengers.

Featured photo courtesy of The White House