Reported by: Prince Saah
Monrovia, Liberia – A powerful new digital tool designed to expose concession violations and strengthen accountability in Liberia’s natural resource sector was launched Thursday, June 18, 2026, with government officials, lawmakers, civil society leaders and international partners declaring that the era of unchecked concession agreements must come to an end.
The Digital Extractive Sector Compliance Scorecard Platform, developed by Integrity Watch Liberia with support from the Government of Ireland and in partnership with the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI), is expected to provide real-time information on whether concession companies are complying with their contractual obligations to the Liberian people.
Launching the platform, Ireland’s Ambassador to Liberia Gerard Considine described the initiative as a major breakthrough for transparency and accountability in a sector that contributes significantly to government revenue but has long suffered from poor public access to compliance information.
“This platform directly confronts the longstanding governance gap of inaccessible concession information by placing evidence at the center of natural resource governance,” the ambassador said.
According to him, publicly accessible compliance scores will now enable lawmakers, oversight institutions, communities and citizens to ask informed questions and hold concession companies accountable based on facts rather than assumptions.
Speaking at the event, Mines and Energy Minister Matenokay Tingbeh warned that Liberia can no longer afford to remain in the dark about the true value of its resources.
“We don’t know what we have. That is why experts come to Liberia, conduct explorations, keep the data and we arrive at negotiation tables negotiating from a position of weakness,” the Minister added.
He revealed that the government is currently pursuing a national mineral survey aimed at determining the country’s actual mineral wealth and strengthening Liberia’s bargaining position in future concession negotiations. Minister Tingbeh also expressed concern about reports of widespread mineral smuggling, particularly gold.
He said, “I received information that the value of gold smuggled out of Liberia exceeds the country’s national budget. That is why this platform is very important. We need stronger monitoring and accountability.”
Liberia’s Mines and Energy Minister further warned that the government would aggressively pursue individuals and companies involved in illegal mining and mineral trafficking. “We are never going to allow people to continue plundering Liberia’s resources without accountability,” he said.
For his part, Senator Numene Bartekwa, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Concessions and Investment, described the oversight of concession agreements as one of the legislature’s most challenging responsibilities. “The companies come here to make profits, and it is our duty to ensure that Liberians receive a fair share of the benefits from their resources,” the senator said.
Senator Bartekwa lamented the country’s outdated legal framework governing natural resources, noting that some laws currently being used date back several decades and no longer reflect modern realities. “We need legal reforms, technical expertise and better information on the actual value of our resources if Liberia is to negotiate better deals,” he emphasized.
The senator praised Integrity Watch Liberia for supporting the committee’s work and pledged continued collaboration in promoting transparency and accountability in concession management.
Earlier, Integrity Watch Liberia Executive Director Harold M. Aidoo said the organization developed the platform to enable civil society, government agencies, lawmakers, concession companies, media institutions and ordinary citizens to independently monitor compliance with concession agreements.
Aidoo stressed that Liberia’s natural resource sector holds enormous potential for economic transformation but only if concession companies fulfill their obligations. “The natural resource sector holds the key to transforming our country. Our role as civil society is to ensure that agreements signed by government are respected and implemented,” he narrated.
The Integrity Watch Liberia Executive Director explained that the platform will draw heavily on data from LEITI and eventually from the National Bureau of Concessions (NBC), allowing users to assess company performance across multiple compliance indicators.
Also speaking, Deputy Director-General of the National Bureau of Concessions (NBC), Cllr. B. Rachell Yaba-Duobah, reaffirmed the Bureau’s commitment to strengthening oversight and ensuring that concessionaires meet their contractual obligations.
Cllr. Yaba-Duobah said Liberia’s concession sector remains vulnerable to abuse due to limited monitoring capacity and logistical constraints. “We need stronger collaboration and enforcement mechanisms,” she noted.
According to her, the platform will help identify areas of non-compliance and enable government institutions to respond more effectively.
Meanwhile, LEITI Head of Secretariat Jeffery Yates described the platform as a significant step toward meeting international transparency standards, particularly the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) requirement on contract transparency.
According to Yates, the scorecard will provide verified, evidence-based information that can be used by government officials, lawmakers, civil society organizations, concession companies and affected communities.
“This is real-time innovation. The information placed on this platform will be verified and evidence-based. It will help improve accountability, strengthen advocacy and promote better relationships between communities and concession companies,” he said.
However, Yates identified four major beneficiaries of the platform: government institutions, civil society organizations, concession companies and concession-affected communities.
