"Bring our container back," musicians put a beat to Liberia's missing money scandal

Record ID: 1357330

  • Title: "Bring our container back," musicians put a beat to Liberia's missing money scandal
  • Date: 21st September 2018
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Pidgin English) MUSICIAN, FRANKLIN EDWARD HARRIS 'KPANTO', SAYING: "This song is already the voice of the people now. Everybody is using this song. There is no need to say anything anymore. People are just sharing the song with their friends and family. They are spreading the message. Even people who work for the government are spreading the message. This is the voice of the people now."
  • Embargoed: 5th October 2018 14:19
  • Keywords: money containers missing containergate cash music GDP 5 percent
  • Location: MONROVIA, LIBERIA
  • City: MONROVIA, LIBERIA
  • Country: Liberia
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0068YKLN4N
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The lyrics to this song are echoing across Liberia - "Bring our container back", by artists, Kpanto and Afo4doe was recorded when the government announced it was launching investigations into the whereabouts of $104 million in missing cash.
    A series of shipments of freshly minted currency ordered by Liberia's central bank from printers overseas have disappeared since last year after passing through the country's main ports, officials said.
    Charles Sirleaf, son of former president and Nobel Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and former central bank governor Milton Weeks are among 15 people barred from leaving the country while the investigation is underway.
    The disappearance sparked outrage across the West African country, with politicians and civil society calling for more transparency around the case.
    The hashtag #BringBackOurMoney has become a rallying cry on social media and Kpanto and Afo4doe's new song is now a popular request on local radio.
    "This song is already the voice of the people now. Everybody is using this song. There is no need to say anything anymore. People are just sharing the song with their friends and family. They are spreading the message. Even people who work for the government are spreading the message. This is the voice of the people now," said Kpanto.
    The song is performed in the popular Hipco - a street styled genre in which local dialect is carried by a mix of West African beats and American hip hop sound.
    For Liberia's youth, Hipco is an important voice.
    "A lot of children are not going to school. Even those people whose children are going to school, you think they feel that everything is okay? No, it is not. I want to speak for the people, I love the people. Even though I don't have what it takes to help everybody, but I am doing it in my own way. That is the thing I am doing right now," said Kpanto.
    The missing $104 million is equivalent to nearly five percent of Liberia's GDP.
    President George Weah, who took office in January after campaigning for economic reform in one of the world's poorest countries, has yet to comment on the missing money.
    In one of the poor neighbourhoods in the capital, women prepare to head to the market.
    Garman Kollie makes soap from palm oil for sale in around the city.
    "I feel bad because I try and sell my soap and people are buying because there no money in this country. If they would just pay people on time, then maybe they can buy my products. Even when I carry my products around, even if I go around in every neighbourhood, it is hard for people to buy my product," said Kollie.
    "George Weah, I voted for him so that I can be happy. I did not vote for him to be crying. I have voted for him all through, even this year. I wanted to be satisfied, but look at me, an old woman like me, I have to go all over the street to survive. I am just waiting for noon, so I can get going. I will not come back before I find food for my children, said Rita Fort who sells peanuts.
    The U.S. government has said it is considering helping Liberia track down the missing money.
    Civil wars in the small West African country killed hundreds of thousands of people between 1989-2003. As its economy was recovering, it was hit by falls in prices of its main exports, iron ore and rubber, and an Ebola outbreak from 2014 to 2016.
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