President Sirleaf Defends Concession Agreement Signed By Government; Maintains They Meet National Interest

Liberia Government (Monrovia)

13 May 2011

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Thursday addressed members of the media at a press conference which covered a range of domestic issues, including the 2011-2012 National Budget, the upcoming national referendum, county tours, and national reconciliation, among others.

On concession agreements, the President said she stands by much of what government has done in awarding contracts. The national interest remains paramount in all agreements the government enters into with foreign companies, the President stated, making reference to the first two agreements the government renegotiated when it assumed the leadership of the country in 2006. She said the renegotiated agreements with ArcelorMittal and Firestone offer more benefits for the Liberian people. She urged journalists and other interested parties to compare the matrix between the agreements entered into by the former Interim Government and the provisions of the renegotiated agreements, “and see the big difference in terms of protecting the national interest and getting more.”

The President said the two agreements have been used as models for all other agreements that have been signed. The President said that despite the measures put in place to guide the process, there have been a few troubling mishaps, making reference to the first Western Cluster bid that was cancelled. As a result of that, the President said she had personally added a step into the process, “that when the Inter-Ministerial Committee has concluded, they must bring it to Cabinet, and Cabinet must look at their decision and then decide whether we are going to go along with their recommendation before any kind of negotiations are concluded.”

The Liberian leader said that some of the agreements being talked about are still in the negotiation stages and have not yet reached the Cabinet. She said they will not be sent to the National Legislature until they are scrutinized by Cabinet, which must be satisfied that they meet those conditions.

“So far, I think we’ve got a process that is defensible,” the President maintained, emphasizing that the agreements are not secret documents and are available for public scrutiny. “They are there. When you go the Legislature, there are open hearings. You go on the Internet; anybody can access them; anyone of you that wants any concession agreement to study for your own purposes, they must be made available to you.”

Asked about monitoring measures to ensure that companies are complying with the terms of agreements, the President said that currently every sector ministry responsible for specific areas under their jurisdiction monitors compliance but admitted that such evaluation measures are scattered and are now being consolidated to make the process more effective.

The President disclosed that legislation calling for the creation of a Bureau of National Concessions is currently before the Legislature. When established, it will be a small, competent and efficient body that will cut across all sectors, the President said, and its sole function would be to monitor compliance and performance under concession agreements. “We hope that body will be very effective to be able to have the kinds of reports where everybody will know whether the concessions are performing.”

Thursday’s Press Conference by the President was her first this year.

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