Monrovia – Grand Bassa County Senator Gbehnzohngar Findley has proposed a 30% production sharing between the Government of Liberia and concession companies in the minerals sector to ensure that the nation and its people benefit their fair shares of their natural resources.
By Obediah Johnson, [email protected]
Senator Findley observed that for too long Liberia and its citizens have not benefited from the wealth and resources of their country due to meager royalties being paid by foreign mining and other concessions companies operating in Liberia.
He noted that foreign concessionaires are getting richer from extracting natural resources from Liberia on a regular basis, while Liberians, who are the original owners of their resources, are struggling with challenges.
He made these comments in an exclusive interview with FrontPage Africa at his Capitol Building office in Monrovia recently.
Senator Findley stressed that it is now time the government takes actions to ensure that the country and its citizens reap the benefits of these natural resources including gold, diamond, timber, iron ore, amongst others.
Revenue Code amendment
Senator Findley called for amendment to the current Revenue Code of Liberia to ensure that the percentage of royalty payments to Liberia be increased, or a production sharing contract between government and concessionaires put in place.
“What we want to look at is to see how we can change the royalties to production sharing or increase the percentage of royalties. You have four and a half percent for iron ore and three percent for gold and other minerals (coming to Liberia as royalties)-we need to amend that portion of the Revenue Code so that it can reflect the true worth of our resources,” he added.
Senator Findley pointed out that for too long Liberia has been a country only exporting billions dollars’ worth of natural resources, including gold and iron ore and as such, it is now time that a fair and reasonable percentage of minerals extracted from the Liberian soil benefit the country and its people.
Rich nation, poor country
He maintained that the present royalties being paid to Liberia by concessionaires do not reflect the wealth of the nation.
He stated that as a result of this, Liberia continues to be classified as “a rich nation, poor country.”
“We have resources, but we are not gaining anything from it. The people of Liberia will benefit from this proposal; We can increase the percentage to at least 25 to 30%. We need to change the module because our population is getting bigger. We hope that it will change the revenue intake on our natural resources,” Senator Findley stated.
He asserted that if Liberia is to be on par with the sophistication of countries around the evolving world, actions and steps must be taken and put in place to maximize substantial benefits from its natural resources.
Changing the old module
He said Liberia must change the age-old module used to benefit from its natural resources and amend existing laws.
“The old module that we are using, we benefited from our resources a little bit-but not the way we should have. And so, we need to look at and change the laws. We need to understand that the time those laws were made, the conditions were quite different from now. We have to basically come up to speed from where we are and how we can improve on collecting more money from our natural resources,” he maintained.
Senator Findley indicated that the government should sit around the table and demand more from foreign concessionaires for the extraction of the country’s resources for the benefit of the citizenry.
He said Liberia does not have the capacity to extract its billions dollars worth of minerals and as such, the country must enter into agreements with potential investors, but must prioritize the interest of the citizens at all levels of discussions.
He called for the introduction and subsequent enactment of laws that would attract foreign-direct investments to Liberia as compared to other neighboring countries in the region.
Senator Findley added that the government should also invest in the energy sector to encourage concessionaires to kick start the manufacturing of raw materials to finished products in Liberia.
This, he noted, would provide job opportunities to thousands of Liberians.
He further vowed to work with his colleagues at the National Legislature to ensure that royalties being paid to Liberia for its natural resources are increased.
He, however, urged the executive branch to adequately play its role during negotiations of these mineral concessions to provide guidance for lawmakers before ratifying them.
