By Elbie Sebleh
MONROVIA: The government of Liberia through the Ministry of Justice, Cllr. Oswald Tweh, has disclosed that the Western Cluster Road user permits has been reinstated following a period of shutdown.
The justice minister made the disclosure during the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) press briefing, Tuesday September 17, 2024.
According to him, the Government of Liberia will not hesitate to continue to close down the company’s operations when the laws of the country are not respected by the company.
Months ago, specifically on May 8, 2024, the Ministry of Public Works suspended the Road User Permit (RUP – 220620-004) issued Western Cluster Limited (WCL) for what it termed, then, as “Violation of the Terms of the Permit.”
The said RUP gave Western Cluster the right to carry out commercial hauling of iron ore to the Freeport of Monrovia- Bomi Hills road corridor.
In the notice sent to the company through its country representative, the Ministry noted with specificity that, “WCL persistently violated Section II (D)(E) of the permit by employing the use of trucks longer than the permitted 34 feet length, 8.5 feet in weight, and carrying an axel load of about 40 tons- far beyond the allowable 30 tons”.
The ministry also observed and documented Western Cluster’s trucking of iron ore throughout the day and night, contrary to the limitation stipulated in the Permit, which restricts the trucking of iron ore only between 7PM to 6AM.
The Ministry of Public Works, then, charged Western Cluster for non-compliance with Section III (A) of the Permit, which requires the company to erect and install weigh bridges at the point of departure and at Klay Junction.
The ministry asserted then, that the company has fallen short of upholding this key transparency and accountability measure.
Additionally, the ministry evidentially niched Western Cluster to its glaring failure to carry out maintenance and repair of the referenced road corridor, thereby eroding pliability and posing challenges to other road users.
The Works Ministry, however, recalled that prior to the issuance of this notice suspending Western Cluster’s Road User Permit, a November 6, 2023 suspension was effected against these very violations.
“What is even more frustrating is that the Ministry of Public Works on November 6, 2023, suspended the permit for similar violations, which suspension was lifted after WCL assured the ministry of curing these violations within the soonest possible time”, the notice stated.
The ministry concluded that it was left with no option but to take the decision against WCL‘s lack of good faith dealing to fulfill its obligations under the permit until any/all violations and defaults under this Permit are cured.
It cautioned that if Western Cluster fails to cure these supra stipulated violations within 60 days, the company ricks termination of its ROAD USER PERMIT.
