MONROVIA – Liberia’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Wilmot Paye, has said the country’s resources have been depleted for what he calls “the sake of 3% or 5% royalty”.
By Edwin G. Genoway, Jr(231886458810)-[email protected]
He said it was now time to stop complaining and do the work of the people of Liberia through the mandate of President Joseph Nyumah Boakai.
Minister Paye spoke Tuesday when he assumed the position of minister of Mines and Energy.
“The President has not sent us here to complain or give excuses. As Minister of Mines and Energy, we will not complain. We are required to act,” he said.
“Especially amid indications that work is not likely to begin in the foreseeable future. We cannot complain while would-be investors come here, he added.
He said a new policy approach that enhances the ministry custody and ability to encourage partnerships with credible investors should be thoughtfully considered as he takes over as minister of the mining sector.
He said, “We cannot employ 19th-century natural resource management models to tackle poverty, especially at a time the rest of Africa is moving away from leaving their destiny in the hands of foreign companies.”
He added only partnerships that encourage full Liberian participation can now unlock Liberia’s mineral and energy resource potential.
“Let me stress again that corporations operating mining projects here do so not because they love Liberia but because of what this Land contains.
Continuing, he added: “We cannot therefore continue to award our minerals for a token. As a former US leader once said, “We cannot fear to negotiate, but we must not negotiate out of fear”.
He, however, pledged his commitment to implement the agenda of the government to bring relief to the people of Liberia, “We are not here today by chance or coincidence. We are here to help make real the promises contained in the President’s ARREST Agenda.”
Minister Paye expressed determination to revamp the mining sector and enhance Liberia’s economic growth. He emphasized a proactive approach that highlighted the need for partnerships with credible investors to maximize the country’s natural resource potential.
Paye noted that Liberia should simply not be striving to survive while sitting atop a vast natural resource potential.
Paye pledged to address challenges and ensure compliance with mining agreements to benefit Liberia’s citizens.
He noted that a new policy approach that enhances the country’s custody and ability to encourage partnerships with credible investors should be thoughtfully considered by his leadership at the ministry.
Many believe that if Paye is to succeed at MME, a ministry that controls sectors that have the potential to spur economic growth and development, he must prepare himself to face and withstand the onslaught of the cartels that have controlled the mining sector for years.
His appointment, however, was a breath of fresh air and relief for many stakeholders in the mining sector. They believe he would bring his well-known toughness and straightforward attitude to a ministry heavily influenced by cartels with varying vested interests.
“If Liberia is to be rescued as promised by the UP government, the mining sector of the country should be the first to be saved from drowning,” one stakeholder told the Daily Observer a few weeks ago.
Paye has promised to rescue the mines and energy sectors of the country in two years, setting it on the path of being the bedrock of the country’s growth and development.
As per President Boakai’s own admission, he said in a frank interview with Reuters in late 2023 that the mining sector has been a problem for the country, with resources being exploited while the lives of the people remain unchanged.
“To be frank with you, the mining sector has been one of the problems in this country. I have seen our resources exploited, and the lives of the people remain the worst,” Boakai said.
As he took over yesterday, Paye agreed to tackle the challenges in the sector head-on, promising not to only live up to his billing, but to meet the expectations of the Liberian people — stressing that his appointment is no mistake and that he is ready for the task.
“We are not here today by chance or coincidence. We are here to help make real the promises contained in the President’s ARREST Agenda,” the former UP Chairman said. “What a critical time to take over this ministry!”
He expressed his commitment to implementing crucial reforms in the mining sector, aiming to ensure that Liberia benefits from its abundant natural resources that would ensure that Liberians are lifted out of abject poverty.
This move is in accordance with a promise President Boakai made after his election in November, pledging to thoroughly examine mining concessions to ensure that Liberia benefits from its rich mineral reserves—a promise he chose Paye, who was a confidante of many years and a trained geologist, who he thinks is best suited to ensure it is actualized.
Paye’s reform initiatives include updating existing laws, reviewing licenses, and enhancing regulatory capacity in the mining and energy sectors.
Under his watch, he noted, MME will be made very proactive, ensuring that concessionaires are in compliance with their agreements signed with the government—highlighting that compliance review on concessions across the country is one of the President’s top policy priorities.
The objective of such a review is twofold, he noted, first to establish whether the terms specified in Mineral Development Agreements (MDAs) are being respected and to identify gaps for consideration in subsequent amendments.
“Let me stress here that this is not about targeting any concessionaire, nor is it about discouraging others,” he said while warning staff of the ministry that the various categories of license “this Ministry issues to operators are no additional sources of income for staff and employees. They are tools for regulation.”
Review of Licenses
If Paye is to succeed, he must prepare himself to face the onslaught of the cartels who control the sector and have manipulated the licensing processes of the ministry, a staff of the ministry told the Observer in a telephone interview last week. The foremost ringleader of the cartels hovering over the mining sector, he said, is Gao Feng.
Popularly known within the mining sector, especially at the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), Gao Feng, a Chinese national, appears to wield much influence among decision makers in the ministry.
Paye admitted at Tuesday’s ceremony that the situation in the Mineral and Energy sectors has now reached a crisis point. It is now a matter of national economic and security emergency.
“We will therefore undertake a quick review of licenses,” he said. “This will help us to separate legitimate license holders from illegitimate ones.”
For a country that relies heavily on revenue from its mineral resources, Minister Paye added that there is a need to take a critical new look at how the ministry issues exploration licenses.
“Moreover, we cannot be promoting direct and full Liberian participation while at the same time, Liberians holding Class C Licenses are robbing themselves by colluding with foreigners to steal our mineral resources. This Ministry will cancel any such Class C License without delay,” he said.
Paye disclosed that his team will update the Mineral Policy of 2010 and the National Energy Policy of 2009. “The Ministry issues various licenses to operators, including but not limited to A, B, and C. However, after 2018, these licenses were issued by the Ministry of State. Not only was this a usurpation, but it also undermined regulation and thus exposed the mineral sector further,” he alleged.
