Monrovia – Liberia’s Finance Minister, Samuel Tweah, has disclosed that the US sanction imposed on him is the result of a long accusation that he had been favoring ArcelorMittal Limited (AML) over the American Company High Power Explorations Inc. (HPX) and preventing HPX from accessing the rail to conduct its investment in Guinea through Liberia.
By J.H. Webster Clayeh (0886729972) – [email protected]
Speaking to the press on Thursday, Minister Tweah says he got the hint from Washington D.C. a year ago that several people connected with HPX were trying to get him on the Treasury sanctions list.
On December 11, 2023, Minister Tweah and two other members of the Legislature, Senator Albert Chie and Senator Emmanuel Nuquay, were sanctioned by the U.S. Department of State. The sanctions are being imposed under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023, highlighting the U.S. commitment to combating corruption on a global scale.
The immediate family members of the designated individuals, including spouse Delecia Berry Tweah, were placed on Visa Restriction.
Addressing the media, Minister Tweah says the sanction on him by the US Government is a result of propagandists and malicious detractors who had sustained against him when he became Minister of Finance in 2018.
According to Minister Tweah, the sanction, which he says is a prolonged campaign of lies, misinformation, propaganda, and disinformation, had finally succeeded against him.
“I was advised that to avoid sanction, I should withdraw my support for ArcelorMittal’s third amendment until after the election. It was on this basis that I advised President Weah to turn over negotiations on the rail to the U.S. Government since too much propaganda and misinformation were threatening to destroy members of his government. The president obliged, and the Americans for a brief moment tried to bring both HPX and A together to reach some understanding on the multi-user rail system,” the Minister of Finance said.
Minister Tweah noted he and his family were rendered guilty without any due process of law, adding that their respective lifetime reputation was summarily impaired by dint of misinformation and false allegations given to a powerful country.
“The above verdict against me and my respective family is unbelievably unjust, unfair, and a fundamental violation of our rights. As a Minister of Finance and Development Planning, I have never abused my position through ‘soliciting, accepting and offering bribes to manipulate legislative processes and public funding, including legislative reporting and mining sector activities,” Tweah said.
He added: “I have never done so whether in dealings with the National Legislature or in dealings with any other branches or institutions of the Government of Liberia or with private sector actors. As a Minister, my job is to provide approved resources to the National Legislature upon request subject to the availability of cash. I have never influenced legislative processes whatever that implies.”
The Minister pointed a specific reference to the mining sector where he believes the reference pertains to his involvement in developing a multi-user gateway through the third amendment of Accelor Mittal’s current concession and through granting rail access to HPX, an American company looking to transport rail from Guinea through Liberia.
“I say so because about a year ago in Washington D.C. I received a hint that persons connected with the American company, High Power Explorations Inc., (HPX) were trying to get me on Treasury sanctions because I was allegedly or supposedly “favoring ArcelorMittal Limited (AML) over HPX and preventing HPX from accessing the rail to conduct its investment in Guinea through Liberia,” he said.
Minister Tweah added: “My informant knew this was unjust and unfair, knowing the role I was playing on the Inter-ministerial Concessions Committee and understanding the difficulties and complexities of the negotiation. I was also informed that persons close to HPX were considering sanctions against me because the company had paid US$ 37 million to the Government of Liberia through the national budget since 2019 and was yet to have an agreement with the Government.”
“Legitimate monies received by the Government of Liberia for the development of Liberia through the national budget is never a bribe. That an agreement has been difficult to reach because of the complexity surrounding a pre-existing agreement is no reason to threaten government officials with sanction,” he furthers.
According to Mr. Tweah, he is providing the explanations and contexts because these are chatters that have underpinned threats of sanction against him and his family from powerful individuals.
“It is important for the public to understand and know these things. We have not discussed them publicly as a government but now must do so under the current circumstances,” Tweah said.
He stressed that Accelor Mittal has an agreement with the Government of Liberia signed by the Unity Party Government that gives Mittal the right to use the Nimba rail and to be an operator of the rail.
Tweah noted: “In the Government’s vision to develop a multiuser rail system, we have tried to have Mittal relinquish operatorship of the rail to an Independent third-party rail operator for purposes of fairness and equity. Mittal has not been open to this position, and we have been at a deadlock for more than three years.”
Realizing the impossibility of having Mittal give up rail operatorship, and knowing the Government was not willing to proceed to international arbitration, Tweah said the Government moved to a position of having Mittal become the User-Operator in exchange for other critical rights – Mittal would have to give up under its current concession that would enable fair and equitable access to third parties such as HPX.
“That would have enabled us to reach a compromise. Unfortunately, HPX does not seem open to such a compromise and has insisted that Mittal abandon the rail operatorship. Mittal itself does not want to give up the rail operatorship. As a consequence, Samuel Tweah became the biggest victim in this power play between two billionaires, each of whom aims to undo and outmaneuver the other. This is fundamentally unfair to me and requires correction by the U.S. authorities,” he said.
Tweah added: “A few months before the 2023 elections, the IMCC paid a visit to the Port of Buchanan. Before this visit, we had taken a position to press Arcelor Mittal harder to share the current facilities at the port of Buchanan with HPX and to accept small shipments, about one to two million metric tonnes of ore through Guinea, preferably from HPX, since under the current concession Mittal is obliged to sharing both rail and port.”
Tweah said he narrated all the positionings and repositionings to the Americans to prove that neither he nor other members of the Government of Liberia were biased toward one investor against the other, but that they were bent on finding a practical solution to what is termed as a very complex problem.
“Given the legal concession right Arcelor Mittal has under the current concession forcing them out of operations of the rail would require litigation or the Armed Forces of Liberia bursting through their premises, violating international law. Since the Government did not prefer any of these two options, we could only concede to Mittal’s operations in exchange for other rights for third-party companies like HPX.”
All of the explanations and evidence he said did not impress some higher-ups in Washington who have continued to use Africa Intelligence, a propaganda media outfit, to rain attacks against the Government of the CDC.
“The headline of one of Africa Intelligence’s articles published on September 29, 2023, reads: George Weah irks Washington and Robert Friedland (he is the billionaire owner of HPX) with mine transfers to ArcelorMittal. Several such false stories have been planted internationally and locally,” he added.
Note to Guide the New Administration
Minister Tweah added that the CDC government will be leaving a note to the Unity Party government to find ways to deal with both HPX and AML.
“As we leave Government, we have left copious transition notes to guide the new administration on these issues. The latest thinking is to find a way for HPX to share the port of Buchanan with ArcelorMittal since it may take a long time for HPX or other third parties to develop separate berths at Buchanan,” he said.
Tweah added: “We wish the new administration luck in these negotiations and look forward to Liberia having a fair and equitable multi-user rail system.”
Sanction Meant to Undo the CDC
Tweah still speaking says the sanction is a setback to the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) adding that individuals who have been sanctioned or are being placed on visa restrictions are not reliable to destroy the lives of decent characters who have worked years to earn and build their reputation.
“This architecture of disinformation has been deployed to undo the CDC by powerfully connected persons,” Minister Tweah said.
He added: “I will argue here publicly that these outcomes do not represent the stated foreign policy objectives as conceived and understood by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, and by President Joseph R. Biden. I know these outcomes are the work of powerfully placed officials or bureaucrats within the U.S Government who have deep connections and relations here in Liberia and who are sworn and are committed to weakening the CDC.”
“The recent designations are a mere strategy to disorganize the CDC while the incoming Government struggles to find its bearing and to prevent a powerful, experienced, and knowledgeable CDC from mounting the fiercest political opposition,” he said.
Fighting to Overturn Injustices Against Him and His Family
Tweah says he will use all legal means to get him and his family out of the Visa restriction list.
“I hope in fighting to overturn the injustice that has been meted to me and my family, I can contribute immensely to contribute to perfecting the use of American power for the greater good of the world and of humanity,” he said.
He stressed that in many ways the United States has sterling claims to the global competition for moral leadership.
According to Tweah, the Treasury and State Designations have a role in changing behavior in Africa and around the world.
“Their misuse, or their overuse can pose problems for America. Sanctions cannot and must not be used as a tool to destabilize a democracy such as Liberia or to weaken an opposition. Seven persons receiving designations in a space of three years from largely one side of the political divide in a country that is both democratic and has more recently become a macroeconomic exception in the West African region should tell U.S. Cabinet Secretaries, U.S. Congressional leaders, and U.S. Presidents that something is afoul and requires a holistic review,” Tweah asserted.