MONROVIA – The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Lands, Mines, Energy, Natural Resources and Environment Senator Simeon Taylor has underscored the need for the establishment of a Mineral Development Investment Fund to empower small scale miners and improve the country’s economy.
By Obediah Johnson
Senator Taylor is representing the people of Grand Cape Mount in the 55th National Legislature.
According to him, the Fund must be established to exclusively collect taxes from the mineral sector and place in a separate account for the benefit the citizens.
He said small scale mining with a Class C license should be exclusively for Liberians, but foreigners are also engaged into the sector.
Senator Taylor made these comments in an exclusive interview with FrontPage Africa in Monrovia recently.
Senator Taylor had just returned to the country from Ghana where he had gone along with the Minister of Lands, Mines and Energy Wilmot Paye and the Economic Advisor to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai.
The trip was intended to learn from the Ghanaians how their strategy to establish similar Fund empowered small scale miners and improved their country’s economy.
Senator Taylor suggested that the Fund should comprise of a Board and other members that would collect all royalties or taxes from minerals, instead of the government doing so through the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA).
He said a minimum portion of taxes collected for minerals should be given to the government, and the rest deposited into separate account, instead of the Consolidated Account of the Liberian government.
According to him, loans from the Fund should be given to local miners based upon their plans that would be submitted to the Board.
Senator Taylor said the Fund will be able to track and establish how much Liberia is generating from minerals.
He added that infrastructural development projects supported by the minerals will also be tracked or recorded.
“Money collected from minerals should not go into the Consolidated Fund Account because, it is a big basket that anybody can put hands and take anything from there. We will not even see what we are doing with our minerals if we do so. We need to make sure that our minerals impact the lives of our people and that’s our concern.”
He observed that many small scale miners in Liberia are struggling due to challenges they faced in acquiring or paying back high interest loans taken from commercial banks operating in the country.
But with the establishment of the Mineral Development Investment Fund in Liberia local miners, Senator Taylor intoned that, local miners will be afforded the opportunity to directly acquire loans to improve their various businesses and provide jobs for others.
“Small scale mining has the capacity to employ more than 30% of our population. We will realize that the small scale mining will impact the economy if this Fund is established to support the sector because; the small scale mining should be done exclusively by Liberians. The intend of this is to grow Liberians in business”
Senator Taylor stressed that the purchasing of gold should also be done by Liberians, but foreigners remain visible on the streets doing so.
Wrong issuance of permits
He said government should prioritize the interest of its citizens during the signing of Class A licenses with foreign companies operating in the country.
He observed that the government, through the Ministry of Labor, has been wrongly issuing work permits to foreigners to do jobs that have been set aside completely for Liberians.
This, Senator Taylor emphasized, is responsible for consistent protests at various concession areas in Liberia.
He, however, claimed that many of those coming into the country are not investors, and as such, government should be mindful of committing the country’s resources to them.
He added that these foreigners generate huge money and depart Liberia, leaving citizens in their operational areas with nothing.
As a result of them, he noted that, elected public officials are being scolded and blamed for the appalling living conditions of the citizens.
Fronting for foreigners
Senator Taylor observed that some Liberians are also in the habit of “fronting” for foreigners to obtain Class B and C licenses to operate.
This, he said, is robbing the nation and its people of the requisite benefits.
He claimed that the entire Class B mining has been dominated by foreigners, because of the lack of support to local small scale miners.
Senator Taylor said these foreigners are using modern machines, including excavators to extract minerals from the soil, while their local counterparties continue to use shovels and other local materials to mine.
He added that these foreigners are largely profiteering at the expense of local miners due to the lack of support.
He said local miners will be able to compete with their foreign counterparts and improve their businesses by applying for Class A license in the future if they are properly supported by the Fund.
“We established the law to strengthen them. Class C mining should not be done by anybody besides Liberians, according to the law. Purchasing of gold on the market from US$1.5M investment should be in the small scale mining and exclusively for Liberians. If people of white color want to mine in our country, they should go to the top class.”
“But most of the time, our people go to these foreigners only because they do not have money to buy these equipment. The minerals law restricts local miners having Class C mining license. It says the Class C mining is exclusively for Liberians. But today, we find Nigerians, Guineans, Ghanaians, Fulanis because they are of black color. We need to be nationalistic.”
“Liberians are not really benefitting from their minerals because, they have been sidelined. They are not engaged into mining because they do not have the financial capacity.”
He, however, vowed to work out modalities for the amendment of the mineral law of the country to ensure the establishment of the Fund which would be named and styled Liberia Income Investment Fund (LIIF).
Senator Taylor said though he may be fought against the move by those involved into maximizing profits from the mineral sector of Liberia to the detriment of the country and its citizens, he is not perturb to do the right thing on behalf of the Liberian people.
He claimed that his move is clearly in line with President Boakai’s vision to ensure that minerals in Liberia impact the lives of the citizens.