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:
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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.