MONROVIA: The Plenary of the House of Representatives has instructed its Committees on Mines and Energy, Ways and Means, and Judiciary to investigate the operations of Western Cluster Liberia Limited in Bomi County.
The August body also voted to include lawmakers within the operational site of the company as resource individuals to the committees.
It followed a communication from Nimba County District 5 Representative, Samuel Kogar.
Representative Kogar sought the indulgence of Plenary to have the operations of the Western Cluster Liberia Limited halted with immediate effect and an investigation be carried out against the backdrop of mounting public outcry and the Management be invited by the Plenary.
He said, a critical review of the Mineral Development Agreement (MDA)/Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) should have been done by the Legislature but this was not the case and as such, the citizens are concerned.
“Western Cluster Liberia signed a MOU with Government on April 12, 2022 as a means of realizing its 25 years MDA, which gives the company exclusive rights to mine 30 million tons of iron ore annually-comprising quartz, hematite, magnetite and other minerals in Western Liberia and was given Class “A” license to begin its mining,” Representative Kogar said.
The lawmaker said citizens in Bomi, Cape Mount and Gbarpolu counties and the public have expressed frustrations over the renegotiations of the Western Cluster Liberia (iron ore deposit) and the Government’s MOU.
“The citizens expressed some major concerns to include the Company’s failure to implement the MDA it signed in 2011, unilateral decision to renegotiate the new MOU deal without the citizen’s inputs, employment, health and education concerns along with infrastructural concern, I found it prudent that there should be an immediate halt to the company’s operations for a speedy investigation in this matter of national concern”, he asserted.
Meanwhile, the Committees will report to plenary within a period of two weeks.
In recent times, there have public outcries over the trucking of the ore deposit in Western region as well US$5 million for social development funds for the three counties in the region.
Besides, reports say the Company is opting to bring in some 300 Guineans to operate the trucks that moving the iron ores from point to another, suggestion that is creation apprehension among the locals many of whom who have not work for decades and yielding for immediate employment.
