Grand Bassa County – Over 500 residents of Kpogbarn Statutory District in District Five, Grand Bassa County on Monday, October 28, assembled at the offices of Equatorial Palm Oil to express their frustrations over the company’s alleged failure to meet up with the Concession Agreement.
Report by Elton Wroinbee Tiah, Contributor
The citizens, under the banner “Aggrieved Citizens United for Transformation of Kpogbarn Statutory District”, halted work activities of the company.
They were seen with placards in their hands, chanting slogans calling on the company to meet up with their demands.
‘Deliberately Failed to Perform’
Leon Eric McCritty, Spokesperson of the aggrieved citizens, told FrontPageAfrica that “After many years of peaceful coexistence, we acknowledged that our rights, as citizens of this district and as Liberians, have been disregarded by the management of Equatorial Palm Oil”
“Being cognizant of the facts that the presence of the company should have been an aid to us, we have realized that the company has deliberately failed to perform its social obligations and other functions as enshrined in the May 22, 2008’s Concession Agreement.”
McCritty claims that the company has “downplayed most of the provisions in the agreement”.
McCritty said “Section 8.1 of the Concession Agreement calls for the Company to collaborate with the Ministries of Agriculture and Education for the establishment of a junior and secondary schools to cater to the educational needs of the employees’ dependents,” but said obligation is yet to be implemented.
Section 7.1 of the same Concession Agreement talks which speaks to health and sanitation says; the company shall within two (2) years construct fifty (50) latrines in the concession area. In addition, the company shall identify a number of latrines that shall be added to their development agenda.
According to McCritty, the Concession Agreement also calls for the establishment of an adult literacy program for Liberians, by providing an annual amount of US$25,000 during the rehabilitation period and such amount should be increased to US$50,000 during the regular period.”
He said the company has failed to live up to that portion of the agreement since 2013 and now owes the community US$150,000.
“We the citizens of the district have complained for several months to our lawmakers about the situation [but] our lawmakers have not been proactive to engage the company about their wrongdoings and so we ourselves have come to petition them, giving them the period of two weeks, beginning today to take full notice and make all necessary corrective measures to avoid future embracement for them,” stressed the community spokesman.
Meanwhile, Jacob Bestman, Youth Chairman of the District, said the lack of safe drinking water in the concession area is also a major challenge.
Bestman claims this is a violation of section 7.4 of the Concession Agreement, which states that “the company shall ensure that all employees residential communities, within the concession areas are been supplied, on a regular basis, safe drinking water”.
“LIBNIC shall immediately construct or cause to construct wells with hand pumps in each of its plantation sub-division and shall include the same in its development plans the number of wells to be constructed, which the management has failed to do,” he said.
“We have given them two weeks to work on our demands or else we are going to halt every activity of the company to claim the attention of national government.”
Section 17.4 of the Concession Agreement stipulates that the company shall contribute 1% of its annual sales to Community Development Fund for the development related projects.
And Bestman says the district needs to have a representative to ascertain that transparency and accountability in order to ensure the community benefits its fair share.
“The living places of workers are all damaged and the company doesn’t even think about it, which violates section 7.4 of the concession agreement,” the youth leader said.
“We the citizens of the district have complained for several months to our lawmakers about the situation [but] our lawmakers have not been proactive to engage the company about their wrongdoings and so we ourselves have come to petition them, giving them the period of two weeks, beginning today to take full notice and make all necessary corrective measures to avoid future embracement for them.”
– Leon Eric McCritty, Spokesperson of the aggrieved citizens
He added that 50% of the top 10 senior management position of the company should have been occupied by Liberians during the rehabilitation period and 75% during the regular term but the company has refused to adhere to this.
‘Continuous Pollution’ Worry Community
At the same time, Dehyeetee Kardor, a resident of the affected community, is worried that the continuous pollution of creeks, which is a major source of water for them, is putting their lives at risk.
“Normally, people use the creek because to get water in the morning is very difficult due to the lack of hand pumps in the residential areas,” said Dehyeetee.
She furthered “This creek pollution continues to make us get water-borne diseases including diarrhea, skin rashes and other skin diseases without cure due to the lack of access to health facilities in our area.”
According to section 13.2 of the Concession Agreement, “LIBINCO shall take reasonable measures to ensure that production does not cause unreasonable risks to public health or unreasonable damage to the environment”.
“Unless LIBINCO demonstrates that a particular measure is unreasonable, it shall employ measures as protective as those employed by persons in Liberia and elsewhere engage in the production and processing of Oil Palm on a basis similar to Production under this Agreement.”
Section 7.23 further states that “LIBINCO shall ensure that all employee residential communities within the concession Area are being supplied on a regular basis with safe drinking water. To this end, LIBINCO shall immediately construct wells with hand pumps in each of its divisions.”
‘Yet to Build Hand Pump’
Thomas Alexander Goshua, Representative of the district has confirmed that EPO has continued to violate the agreement, adding that the company is yet to build any hand pump for the affected community.
“My office constructed one hand pump in one of the biggest camps in the concession area, which is not enough for the people. We have engaged the company on several occasions but the Management of EPO has been disrespecting my office,” the lawmaker said.
“The citizens have complained to me and I am prepared to take bigger actions against the company because the Concession Agreement calls for everything they have listed.
“I once worked for EPO and they are still taking me to be one of their workers but I can assure them that I am not going to take any disrespect from them any more”.
EPO needs to work in line with the Concession Agreement and stop risking the lives of our people, Goshua said.
He furthered “The citizens today presented their plights through documentation and so I am not going to take it lightly with EPO. The citizens give two weeks ultimatum and so I am going to work with the county Authorities to ensure that EPO works within the period”.
The company failed to make a comment following the presentation of the petition by the community. When FrontPageAfrica contacted the management, it promised to make official statement by the October 31, or November 1, 2019.
Equatorial Palm Oil is an oil palm concession company operating in Grand Bassa, Rivercess and Sinoe Counties. It owns over 169,000 hectares, including 1,000 hectares of plantation land it acquired in 2010 from the government.
The firm holds interests in 34,398 hectares of land at Palm Bay area in Grand Bassa County; 54,550 hectares of land at Butaw, Sinoe County area; and 80,000 hectares of land in RiverCess County.
It is a London based firm listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. A Malaysian firm, KL-Kepong, owns almost 64 percent interest in the company