Monrovia – The wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Mrs. Cherie Blair, who represents the legal interests of Prista Port, has written President George Manneh Weah seeking his intervention due to an “apparent stasis in the House of Representatives.”
Mrs. Blair’s plea comes at a time when the House of Representatives, according to reports, has on its agenda, today, December 10th, Prista Port’s discussion.
Prista Oil Holding is the mother company of Prista Port Buchanan LLC. It is a Liberian business entity, which was established by the European multinational company Prista Oil Holding EAD, in order to facilitate the recently concluded Concession Agreement with the Government of Liberia for the Port of Buchanan.
By virtue of the Concession Agreement dated 14th August 2019, approved by President Weah on September 12, 2019, and ratified by the Senate with Act No41 on September 30, 2019, Prista is expected to manage the Port of Buchanan for 25 years. They are set to invest a whopping US$277 million in the Liberian economy.
In Mrs. Blair’s letter, a copy which of is in FrontPageAfrica’s possession, she told President Weah that she has been instructed by her client in connection with their investment in the Port of Buchanan.
“As you will be aware, Prista has the concession to deliver a visionary transformation of the port and the surrounding area to create an exclusive economic zone of strategic national importance (“Port of Buchanan”). At least to me, it appears that Prista’s project is destined to play a vital role contributing to your legacy while driving Liberia’s economic growth and having a profound social impact.
“However, despite Prista’s legitimate expectations that everything was in order with the concession after over one year of negotiations, planning and agreements, the project has suddenly stalled due to apparent stasis in the House of Representatives. Prista is concerned by this inexplicable and seemingly arbitrary obstruction and invites your intervention to make sure matters progress in accordance with due process at the forthcoming extraordinary session of the House on 10 December 2019,” she stated in her letter.
Prime Minister Blair’s wife hopes that the impediment to realizing the project will be resolved this Tuesday. However, she noted straight forwardly to the President: “In the absence of a solution, my client will explore all of its options, including its legal rights and remedies to protect its legitimate interests.”
Last month, this newspaper saw two separate letters addressed to two of Liberia’s international development partners, in which Prista Port has threatened to commence a litigation process against the Liberian Government.
“However, despite Prista’s legitimate expectations that everything was in order with the concession after over one year of negotiations, planning and agreements, the project has suddenly stalled due to apparent stasis in the House of Representatives. Prista is concerned by this inexplicable and seemingly arbitrary obstruction and invites your intervention to make sure matters progress in accordance with due process at the forthcoming extraordinary session of the House on 10 December 2019.”
– Cherie Blair CBE, QC, Chair, Omnia Strategy LLP
In the almost identical, content letters addressed to both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Resident Representative, Mr. Geoffrey Oestreicher and Ms. Kateri Clement, Resident Coordinator, Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Prista Oil Holding EAD, Mr. Plamen Bobokov, said “It is with dismay that it has come to the knowledge that the Chairman of the National Investment Commission is engaging in criminal activity of disclosing sensitive financial information of our business model in an effort to solicit a deal that has already been concluded.”
Mr. Bobokov further informed the IMF and MCC that Prista Oil Holding’s Board has approved an investment program of US$277 million to be invested in the Port of Buchanan. He added: “Additionally, we expect about US$200 million to be invested from third parties in the industrial zone and in the city of Buchanan. The new investments are expected to create jobs for more than 5000 people, where as we gave guarantee to the Government for 2000 working places by January 2020.”
According to the Prista Oil Holding’s Board of Directors Chairman, they “were very surprised and discontent by the information that a member of the Executive—the Chairman of the National Investment Commission, Mr. Molewuleh Gray—is trying to deceive foreign investors to participate in the criminal activity of breaching the Constitution and Laws of the Republic of Liberia, by disclosing sensitive financial information of our business model attempting to solicit a deal which was already concluded.”
He also disclosed to the development partners that they (Prista) are baffled that the last formal procedure—“the issuing of the Handbill, allowing us and the Government’s representatives to start the 90-day transition/handover period has been withheld so far, due to unexplainable reasons.”
“What is more surprising with the delay is that the Concession Agreement stipulates payment to the Government of an amount of US$7 million on or around the Handover date, and additional US$3 million after one year. We consider that such signature bonus is large, but we also understand our obligation to support Liberia in a difficult situation.”
Mr. Bobokov stressed that the Investment Commission Chair’s action had shown disrespect to the whole procurement process and to the decision to senior members of the Government including President Weah, who had signed the Concession Agreement on August 14, 2019.
He added: “Needless to say, that by presenting third parties with confidential information about the financial projections of Prista, he heavily ruin the integrity of the negotiation process with the National Investment Commission.”
The Prista Port Buchanan Board Chairman had disclosed that they intended to commence a litigation process against the Government of Liberia at the International Center for Solution of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Washington, DC, for breach of warranty of authority.