Dear Editor:

I spent three days fighting every level of the customs bureaucracy in Monrovia in Dec 2005. I am an Australian journalist and a group of my friends and family had decided to send a generator and freezer to help a family of orphaned returning refugees I had reported on. I had imported into 3 countries before that and I had never seen anything like the ports at Monrovia.

A VERY senior official in the finance ministry threatened me. I applaud you for reporting on your experiences on the dock and for pointing out the barriers it poses to investment in the country. I can only hope the bureaucrats on the dock will read it and understand that their short term money grabbing will undermine the ability of the Liberian economy to provide more, for everyone, down the track.

Ms. Prue Clarke de Cavaignac
prueclarke@verizon.net
www.prueclarke.com