Mandating Investors To Do The Needful Can Western Cluster Succumb?

LIBERIA’S MATCHING ORDER in coming to term with investors has often been marred by growing disenchantment, agonies, violence, insecurity, bad labor practices and undesired consequences of investment the citizens do not prefer in return to their valuable resources extracted by foreign investors. WITH DEEP SENSE of regret and mixed feedings, Liberians on the average squarely blame our government for entering into contractual agreements with foreign investors to operate in Liberia, holding everything constant that the investment climax would favor the livelihood of the citizenry whose natural resources are extracted and exported out of the country.

ON THE CONTRARY, decadence of bitter experiences can realistically indicate blatant undeserved inhumane treatments meted out to custodians of the God-giving abundant resources that should make the living standards of Liberians better. WE CANNOT ARGUE with the citizens’ assertion that they blame our government for the manner and form in which foreign investors treat us while taking away our valuable resources, some of which are non-renewable; like for examples, diamond, iron ore and gold. SEVERAL PAST ADMINISTRATIONS to include those of Charles Taylor, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and George Manneh Weah bear blunt responsibility of the trend of foreign investors’ bad social contract agreement against custodians of the communities they (investors) extracted resources from in the country in the past and even up to present. UNDER THE REGIMES of these former presidents, investors were laws onto themselves because they cared less accountable for any inimical acts against the contractual agreements signed with those administrations in the past. WE HASTEN TO enumerate: The administration of Mr. Taylor is associated with the OTC from Malaysia that operated in Grand Bassa, Rivercess and Nimba Counties. The administration of Madam Sirleaf is associated with over 60 contractual agreements signed of which Western Cluster is noted to be a part. And the administration of Mr. Weah is associated with all foreign investors Madam Sirleaf left behind, whose agreements’ rectifications did not change those bad social contract agreements to reverse unfriendly engagements meted out against affected communities.   INTERESTINGLY THOUGH, NOW the Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s administration, coming on the political platform with a strong campaign of ‘NO BUSINESS AS USUAL,’ has pin-pointed at Western Cluster, warning and threatening its closure due to the company’s failure to live up to what the Mineral Development Agreement obligates it to deliver.

LIKE THE ADMINISTRATION of Madam Sirleaf did in 2006; the administration of Boakai should revisit all previous concession agreements that led to the operations of current companies operating in Liberia in order to rectify those agreements and if need be cancel those agreements that were signed in bad faith. BUT HAVING SAID this, the questions remains: can Western Cluster succumb?