20111211
Reuters
(Reuters) - President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf said the main challenges for Liberia in a "difficult" period after a controversial election were reconciliation and finding work for former child soldiers.

Johnson-Sirleaf, in Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace prize, also said that Liberia, unlike many other African nations, was not considering a special mining tax and the focus of her second term would shift to agriculture from mineral resources.

"We've had a difficult first month after the election but once the nation is back at work, once everybody is engaged with work, the confidence will return," she told Reuters in an interview on Saturday.

Johnson-Sirleaf's re-election last month was marked by political violence, a boycott by the opposition, low turnout and unproven allegations of vote-rigging.

The West African state, one of the poorest nations in the world, has attracted billions of dollars in resource investment since the end of a 1989-2003 civil war.

But the election controversy and the failure of Johnson-Sirleaf's Unity Party to win a majority in parliament has made some investors nervous.

Stability in Liberia is a vital piece in the overall security make-up of West Africa, a region trying to move on from decades of civil wars and coups in countries such as Ivory Coast, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

The key to stability is winning over youth, and not necessarily political compromises, Johnson-Sirleaf said.

"Many of them were child soldiers, many of them have not gone to school and don't have an education, so it makes them unmarketable," she said.

Johnson-Sirleaf enlisted the help of fellow Nobel laureate Leymah Gbowee, who called the country's disunity a "crisis."

"Right now after the election we have a very serious crisis on our hand," Gbowee said in a separate interview. "The election just showed that we have a whole group of people from 1989 till now who haven't been reconciled and the need for reconciliation is great."

NO NEW MINING TAX, FOR NOW

Liberia has attracted some of the biggest resource firms in recent years, including top steelmaker ArcelorMittal, which recently exported Liberia's first iron ore shipment since the end of the war.

BHP Billiton, Affero, and China Union are also developing mining projects, while Firestone and Sime Darby are ploughing money into agribusiness.

Still, Johnson-Sirleaf said a rise in the mining tax was not an option for now.

"When it comes to corporate tax, we'll try to harmonize with the rest of the region, because we want to focus on regional integration," she said.

"I don't thing we want to put on any kind of punitive tax that will take away from our competitiveness in the sub-region. But all these things are always open to continuous examination," Johnson-Sirleaf added.

Governments across Africa are moving to extract more revenue from their mining industries by imposing higher taxes and royalties or changing the codes that govern the sector, a concern for investors as mining is a capital intensive sector with lengthy return times.

But focus will shift from mining to agriculture, including large scale plantations like palm oil and rubbers, and also small scale farming.

"In terms of new investment, our priorities will be agriculture. Mining operations are in place and we expect those will continue. We are seeking diversity," she said.