Monrovia – The Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) has called on the government of Liberia to use a bribery scandal in Indonesia of a global oil palm giant linked to Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL) as a wakeup call to enforce the country’s investment laws.
Seven people, including members of subsidiaries of GVL’s Indonesian financier Golden Agri Resources Limited have been arrested and being probed by anti-graft officials over bribery, Reuters news agency reported over the weekend.
They are accused of bribing Indonesian lawmakers to avoid an investigation into plantation permits and palm processing waste, officials told Reuters.
James Otto, SDI’s head of program told FrontPage Africa that the news should grab the attention of Liberia. “The watchdog arms of the Government of Liberia should make sure that laws and regulations of Liberia are respected by palm oil companies such as Golden Veroleum Liberia, where Golden Agri-Resources is the main investor,” Otto said.
Agri-Resources Limited is the world’s second-largest palm oil plantation company and the sole investor of GVL, which is owned by U.S.-based Verdant Fund LP. GVL in 2010 signed a 65-year deal with Liberia for 350,000 hectares of land in Sinoe and Grand Kru or 2.3 percent of Liberia’s total landmass.
GVL has been accused of land grabbing in several SDI reports. The NGO calling on Golden Agri Resources to stop its investments in the company but it is unclear whether GAR can be held liable for GVL’s activities in Liberia. However, a July 2018 SDI report found GVL breached Gold Agri Resources’ Forest Conservation Policy.
In August this year, GVL suspended its membership with the Roundtable on Sustainable Oil Palm (RSPO), the global body that regulates oil companies against deforestation and forest degradation.
That came after a long struggle with communities over customary land rights and alleged human rights abuses.
Otto said the civil society organizations and communities still had a lot to do. “Civil society organizations and communities should be alert and vigorous in their monitoring to prevent and expose any corruption by transnational corporations,” he said.
SDI and several other groups are members of the Civil Society Oil Palm Working Group, and are training communities and making awareness on deforestation and sustainable forest management. Communities are now selecting representatives to the National Technical Oil Palm Working Group that comprises the government, private sector, civil society and academia.