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Who
authorized the sale of the iron ore in Buchanan?
Who's
benefiting from the proceeds of the sale? Of
the total sale, how much went to the citizens
of Nimba and Grand Bassa counties? Were the
former employees paid? Will the local people
in mineral rich counties in Liberia EVER benefit
directly from their natural resources?
While
the interim government in Monrovia struggles
to identify who authorized the sale of iron
ore in Buchanan and who is benefiting, constant
reports of backdoor deals being made with foreign
companies provide strong reasons for Liberians,
especially Nimba citizens to worry. Their worries
stem from Liberia's checkered past where leaders
took bribes and made concession agreements without
considering the interest of the local people.
All of these and other related ills led to the
civil crisis in our country. Interestingly after
14 years of civil war and the death of over
300,000 citizens, our leaders are still involved
in corruption and cronyism. Considering that
the citizens of the country and more specifically
those of mineral rich counties did not benefit
from the wealth drawn from their native soil,
the time has come for policymakers to halt the
exploitation of Liberians and reverse the trend.
Citizens of mineral rich counties deserve to
get benefits from their natural resources. The
logic here should not be too hard to grasp except
if those who think differently have ulterior
motives - reverting to inequalities and injustices
that plunged Liberia into the throes of hatred
and war.
The first step in assuring that the interests
of mineral rich counties are protected, I suggest
the following:
Three
representatives, each from mineral rich counties
should be on the Legislative and Senatorial
Committees and/or sub-committees(Mineral Technical
Committee) responsible for overseeing mineral
exploration. These representatives should
have the mandate to critically examine past
processes of mineral exploration in the country
and develop new standards to govern future
mining activities.
These
committees should also be responsible to develop
mechanisms for ensuring that funds derived
from local mineral exploration are invested
in economic development within mineral-rich
counties. Citizen councils should be established
locally that guide the use of their respective
revenues from mineral exploration.
Local
citizens should have a voice in concession
agreements and all such agreements should
make allocations for environment clean-ups.
It
is clear that concession agreements in the past
were mired by the greed and selfishness of Liberian
leaders (local and national) rather than ensuring
that such national wealth translate into improved
quality of life for Liberians. Instead, corruption
and cronyism became the norm and thus the citizenry
were disadvantaged by such lopsided processes.
For
example, the landslide in Bomi Hills in the
early 80's could have been prevented had there
been systems in place to proactively address
against potential land or mudslides. Either
through greed or ignorance, Liberians were left
vulnerable to these catastrophes or even when
they occurred, the chance of redress ranged
from minimal to nonexistent. Many people were
killed and properties destroyed. The company
has long been gone and those who possibly received
kickbacks for protecting the company from liability
may also be dead. One wonders, if the people
of Bomi Hills really got anything substantial
for their iron ore. Bomi citizens got BOMI
HOLES just as Nimba citizens got bottomless
valleys, polluted rivers and creeks and
abandoned heavy equipment. This article
endeavors to highlight these obvious wrongs
and to spur debate and dialogue about future
concession agreements and mining in our beloved
country.
Given
that we watched powerlessly as the past governments
forged contracts that devastated forests in
the past, we must respond differently in the
post-conflict era. We must advocate for public
policies, which demand that if a tree is cut
from any forest in Nimba, at least 25% of the
proceeds must remain in Nimba and four new trees
must be planted in its place. Bridges built
by these logging companies must be built with
concrete, not logs that rot in less than five
years. Roads constructed must be maintained
by such companies for a number of years until
the government takes over them. All Liberians
working for such companies must receive wages
that are commensurate with their qualifications
and fair market standards.
All
counties of our country are rich, not necessarily
in gold, diamond or iron ore. Timbers are found
in Grand Gedeh, Sinoe, and Maryland. Even arable
land is considered a natural treasure and must
not continue to be explored at the expense of
the local people. Any investment decisions made
for mining or logging must therefore strongly
consider the interest of the local people who
have for generations provided security for these
riches.
History:
Buchanan
Ore cleaning plant below
The
Liberian American Swedish Company, LAMCO, signed
a 70-year concession Agreement in 1953 for ore
exploration in Yekepa, Nimba County. In 1956,
exploration started leading to the discovery
of ore reserve of over 250 million tons high-grade
iron ore in the Nimba Range. To fund the project,
financiers were sought. Bethlehem Steel acquired
20% of the project and was guaranteed 25% of
the financing and 25% of the sales. The remaining
75% was shared equally with the Government of
Liberia and LAMCO.
Of
the 75% shared between Liberia and LAMCO, nothing
was set-aside for the people of Nimba, let alone
for cleaning the environment. The Yeke family
of Nimba County doesn't have anything to show
for the billions of dollars invested in their
land.
The
scholarship program set up to educate Liberians
didn't directly benefit them, let alone local
Nimba citizens. The only major hospital in Sanniquellie,
Nimba's capital, was built near a railroad track.
I spent a night at this hospital and got my
share of the noise by the locomotives from Yekepa
to Buchanan. LAMCO should have rebuilt the hospital
at a different location. A company the size
of LAMCO would have spent less than $5m to relocate
the hospital.
The
hospital problem in Sanniquellie was just a
tip of the iceberg. Most of the workers in LAMCO
were not even Liberians, let alone local Nimba
citizens. Liberians that worked the mines were
not paid fair wages. The rivers in Nimba, Mano,
Yar, Borh and others were polluted. Considering
the fact that our people still drink from streams
that these rivers flow directly into, many local
people have died and continue to die from gastro-intestinal
diseases.
Not
even all of the major towns and villages in
Nimba County have access to peacekeepers in
recent times. Former rebels are still harassing
people in some towns and villages in the county.
With the county not declared safe of rebels,
signing concession agreements makes one wonder
whether the diamonds and ore count more than
the people of the county. All of these important
issues must be resolved before anyone can even
phantom reviving LAMCO.
Liberians, not only Nimba citizens, are committed
to directly engaging the government on these
issues of their national interest and survival.
THE
WAY FORWARD IN NEW LIBERIA
Firestone
Plantations Company, B. F. Goodridge, Nimbaco,
Lofa Construction Company, Cesto Nimba Corporation,
etc. operated in some parts of Liberia and some
are still around today. Whatever these companies
got away with in the past, is history, but the
popular demand of this century is a call for
FRESH START with the counties having a considerable
share of their resources. This call is just
and popular and must not be overlooked.
The
final call is clear and simple from the NIMBA
perspective. Our County is one of the richest
in the country. It has nothing to show for over
250 million tons of high-grade iron exploited
there for over 30 years. We are left with environmental
problems and diseases that we were unprepared
to deal with. By guaranteeing a fair share of
our resources-considering the popular demand
of the 21st century, Liberia will be laying
not only a solid economic foundation for its
own people but encouraging lasting peace and
stability in our country.
Finally,
hats off to the various Liberian organizations
that are engaging our government for fair play
like the Liberia Democracy Watch, Foundation
for International Dignity, National Human Rights
Center of Liberia, Association of Environmental
Lawyers of Liberia (Green Advocates), Foundation
for Human Rights and Democracy, the Nimba and
Bassa University Student Associations and Center
for Democratic Empowerment. In a democracy,
we all serve as watchdogs of the society. To
succeed in a country like ours, with its legendary
tradition of corruption and cronyism, we must
continue working hard.
References:
The history of Lamco, Yekepa page
Interviews, former LAMCO employees
Liberia, The Evolution of the Privilege, J.
Gus Liebenow, 1969
About the Author:
________________________
Yini
Guva A. Sahn is a Liberian. He holds an MBA
from Ashland University in Ohio. He heads the
Nimba Development Institute and plans to establish
the country's first Institute of Honest Management.
Yini Guva believes Liberia's Legendary Tradition
of Corruption can be minimized only though education
and taking punitive measures against the corrupt.
Liberia will never GROW if we continue to reward
corrupt officials with more opportunities.
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