Capitol Hill, Monrovia – Despite growing public demand for clarification on the contentious agreement, the Liberian Senate suspended its public investigation into the Ivanhoe Atlantic Inc. (HPX) concession on Monday when Finance Minister Augustine Ngafuan and Justice Minister Oswald Tweh failed to show up.
The Senate Joint Committee on Transport, Lands and Natural Resources, and Concessions arranged the hearing, which was intended to examine the Concession and Access Agreement that Liberia and Ivanhoe Liberia, a subsidiary functioning within the HPX and SMFG framework, had signed. After a quick meeting behind closed doors that lasted less than ten minutes, committee chair Senator Saah H. Joseph announced the postponement till next Thursday.
Lawmakers decided that the hearing could not take place without the direct presence of the officials who signed the agreement, despite the fact that both ministers sent representatives: Cllr. Charles D.F. Karmo, the Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Justice, and Assistant Minister of Revenue from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.
The presence of several high-ranking officials, such as Transport Minister Sirleaf Tyler, Liberia Revenue Authority Commissioner General Dorbor Jallah, and National Investment Commission Chairman Jeff Billbo, did not appease senators who claimed that only the Justice and Finance Ministers could explain how the agreement was reached.
The first to raise an objection was Senator Samuel Kogar of Nimba County, who questioned the Finance Minister’s failure to formally announce his absence. He also voiced concern that, despite being one of the main signatories to the Ivanhoe deal, Justice Minister Oswald Tweh has consistently avoided legislative scrutiny. According to Senator Kogar, the integrity of the Senate’s oversight duties would be compromised if the two ministers were not present.
The main question in the investigation is whether Liberia complied with the Implementation Agreement that was signed between Guinea and Liberia. This agreement governs all cross-border rail and port access. Every choice pertaining to the transportation of Guinean minerals through Liberia was supposed to be guided by the Implementation Agreement.
It described precise protocols that necessitated a two-step approval process, with Guinea vetting a Request for Eligibility and Liberia submitting a Request for Access for review by a joint Monitoring Committee and final endorsement by Liberia’s Inter Ministerial Committee. In order to guarantee that all operators are treated equally, it also directed the Technical Secretariat to create a standard access agreement template and established the committees in charge of preventing unilateral action by either nation.
The Ivanhoe Concession and Access Agreement was signed, but there is no public record indicating that these steps were taken. The lack of evidence has increased scrutiny of the Minister of Justice, who serves as the government’s senior legal advisor and is in charge of making sure Liberia complies with its commitments under international accords. Although his attendance was thought to be crucial for elucidating the legal actions taken, he has missed several hearings.
Deputy Minister Charles D. F. Karmo II represented the Ministry of Justice at a House Joint Committee hearing last week, but lawmakers again voiced their dissatisfaction. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Deputy Minister Gabriel Salee revealed during the same week of hearings that the Foreign Ministry was unaware of the Ivanhoe negotiations and had not taken part in the talks that resulted in the agreement.
Many lawmakers were taken aback by his statement because cross-border agreements usually necessitate diplomatic coordination. Furthermore, despite the fact that the Ivanhoe agreement depends on the transportation of Guinean ore through Liberian infrastructure, a number of House Committee members expressed surprise at the fact that the Government of Guinea has not yet been formally informed about it and has not taken a stance on it.
The Executive is under increasing pressure to clarify whether Liberia adhered to the Implementation Agreement with Guinea now that both parliamentary chambers are involved.
