2006年VOA标准英语-Liberian Authorities Tighten Security at M

By Franz Wild
Monrovia
19 April 2006

Monrovia's port became a symbol of corruption¹ and disorder² during Liberia's 14 years of civil war. Goods were regularly stolen and huge amounts of revenue were lost. The new government is tightening⁴ controls to increase port revenue.

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View of Monrovia port   
  

Workers at Monrovia's Freeport are unloading a shipment of 25,000 tons of rice from China.

Next to the ship lies another, sunken and rusting⁵ at the broken loading platform. A harbor pilot says that sunken ships pose underwater obstacles, making it harder to navigate⁶ the channel leading into the dock.

The Freeport was a symbol of corruption and disorder during Liberia's 14 years of civil war.

Rebels once held the port for a final assault on the capital in their bid to oust⁷ then-president Charles Taylor. Many containers were looted. Theft was commonplace. Relief workers reported that government soldiers broke into a World Food Program warehouse⁸ at the port and stole trucks and food stocks.

Now, soldiers from the U.N. Mission in Liberia keep an eye on the perimeter⁹ from guard towers.

Liberia's new government under President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf says it wants to tighten³ security at the port and enforce import duties more stringently¹⁰.

Director of Seaport¹¹ Police Michael Williams says he found security in a state of disarray¹² when he arrived two-months ago.
 

Sunken ship  
  
"You understand there was a former administration here that was running haywire, because methods were not put in place properly," he said. "I was notified of the high indiscipline issue that was coming from within the Liberian Seaport Police. So I had to come up with some mechanisms¹³ to control indiscipline."

Williams says violations¹⁴ will be dealt with severely¹⁵.

"They range from suspensions to verbal warnings to written warnings. In fact, dismissal is also an option, depending on the severity of the action committed by our officer," he said.

Across the bridge is the thriving Vietown Market, where vendors¹⁶ sell mostly clothes and household products. King Mohamed has his office above one of the shops. He has been importing plastics to Liberia for 10 years.

Mohamed recollects¹⁷ a lax system under previous governments.

"The past regime did not enforce everything," he said. "There was a feeling that you could just come in and do whatever you wanted to, which led to a whole lot of malpractices."

Mohamed says regulations are now being enforced more stringently. Among them, he says, are the regulations of the Bureau of Inspection¹⁸ Valuation Assessment¹⁹ and Control. 

Worker offloads rice in Freetown/Monrovia   
  
Known as BIVAC, the international organization is charged with controlling shipments between many countries to facilitate the customs process. It ensures that international standards are upheld at ports around the world.

Mohamed says importing goods used to be easier.

"Things were pretty good at the time, because things were not as expensive as they are now," he noted²⁰. "One of the critical issues is that the issue of the BIVAC inspection in the country of loading seems very strange to most business people in Liberia."

BIVAC also ensures that revenue is properly collected for participating governments. But Mohamed explains why that can pose a problem for importers and make wares²¹ more expensive for the consumer.

"If I import goods that were not inspected and they arrive in Monrovia port, I will be taxed 'X' amount of money. Obviously I have to sell to make a profit, so you will expect that there will be some addition in terms of profit margin," he said. "And if that should happen, the consumer, who is the last receiver becomes affected²² greatly."

Mohamed says dealing²³ with a much stronger port authority is a real challenge, but he is optimistic that it will generate more income for the government and thus benefit all.

"As time goes on business people will get adjusted. But for now it is very strange and tough," he said. "If you compare the importation of goods into the country between then and now, you will find that the amount has decreased, because of the new measures. But people will try to pick it up and get accustomed to it."

Port authorities say that annual port revenue was around $12 million during the past three to four years. They hope this will increase drastically.

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

4 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

5 rusting   

n.生锈v.（使）生锈( rust的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There was an old rusting bolt on the door. 门上有一个生锈的旧门闩。 来自辞典例句
• Zinc can be used to cover other metals to stop them rusting. 锌可用来涂在其他金属表面以防锈。 来自辞典例句

6 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

7 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

8 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

9 perimeter   

n.周边，周长，周界

参考例句：

• The river marks the eastern perimeter of our land.这条河标示我们的土地东面的边界。
• Drinks in hands,they wandered around the perimeter of the ball field.他们手里拿着饮料在球场周围漫不经心地遛跶。

10 stringently   

adv.严格地，严厉地

参考例句：

• The regulations must be stringently observed. 这些规则必须严格遵守。 来自辞典例句
• Sustainable Development formulations are composed of controlled and stringently selected items. 可持续发展标准的条款是经过严格选定的。 来自互联网

11 seaport   

n.海港，港口，港市

参考例句：

• Ostend is the most important seaport in Belgium.奥斯坦德是比利时最重要的海港。
• A seaport where ships can take on supplies of coal.轮船能够补充煤炭的海港。

12 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

13 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

15 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

16 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

17 recollects   

v.记起，想起( recollect的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• All are recollects, all are felt, all only not once putting behind. 一切只是回忆，一切只是感觉，一切只是卜曾的忘却。 来自互联网
• Recollects hardware information on this computer. 重新收集关于这台计算机的硬件信息。 来自互联网

18 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

19 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

20 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

21 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

22 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

23 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。