MONROVIA: President George M. Weah is said to be lobbying for the passage into law the Arcelor Mittal Mineral Development Agreement (extension version) by instructing the state-owned Inter-Ministerial Concessions Committee (IMCC) to review the third amendment of the Arcelor Mittal Liberia Holdings Limited and Arcelor Mittal Liberia Holdings AG that was recently rejected for ratification by the House of Representatives.
In a communication to the House Plenary on Thursday, 19 May, 2022, President Weah acknowledged the decision of the House of Representatives to decline on the ratification of the third amendment to the Mineral Development Agreement between the Liberian Government and Arcelor Mittal Liberia Holdings Limited and Arcelor Mittal Liberia Holdings AG.
He also informed the lawmakers that the IMCC will review and analyze their concerns put forward in rejecting the third amendment of the Mineral Development Agreement in discussion with AML for possible resubmission to the legislature.
“Thereafter, I shall authorize the IMCC to hold discussions with Arcelor Mittal for the resubmission of an amendment that fairly satisfies the needs of that company while also upholding the national interest of Liberia”, President Weah’s communication noted.
However, the President broke the ice on the sticking concerns of other mineral investment including HPX when he said the proposed third amended agreement seeks to grant AML exclusive rights to continue serve as the operator of the railroad and puts the mining company in charge of daily operations for the benefit of each and all users.
The House’s decision to reject and return the agreement to the Executive was taken Monday, 28, March 2022, during a special session.
The Mineral Development Agreement was submitted to the Legislature for ratification by President Weah on 17 November 2021.