‘No Hiding Place for Illicit Miners’ – Mines Inspector-General Coker Asserts

Monrovia – In a bid to ensure full-scale implementation of Liberia’s Minerals and Mining Law, a clarion call has been sounded by the Inspector-General of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Agatius B. Coker, assuring that the Inspectorate Division remains unbending and will not relent in insisting on the legitimacy of every Miner and those with such business aspirations.

Mr. Coker, told a gathering of Journalists over the weekend, that the fiduciary responsibility of the Mines and Energy Ministry to regulate all mining activities in the Country and hold miners in compliance with the law is one of the surest ways the national government can generate revenue to support development priorities.

Mr. Coker was responding to latest inspection works being done across the Country by the Ministry’s Inspectors assigned to the six (6) Mining Districts of Liberia. Before the just-ended holiday observations of Christmas, and New Year’s Day, several unapproved mining equipment were seized from some unlicensed individuals caught red-handed carrying out illicit activities in towns and villages without any regard for laws and regulations governing the sector. In stronger terms, Mr. Coker condemned such unpatriotic acts, saying the current administration of the Ministry (MME) is committed to discontinuing.

Montserrado County’s rural towns, Youth Camp, Number-Seven in District #1 being the most recent, among others, have experienced confiscation of contraband mining equipment through robust inspection operations, while persons believed to be implicated in those unlawful practices are being pursued to face attending penalties for their actions as the law provides. Inspector-General Coker then commended the Minister of Mines and Energy, Wilmot Paye, his team of Deputy and Assistant Ministers alike, for what he says is a ‘high level’ of administrative will and technical support towards the functional capacities of the Inspectorate Division. With such good leadership Coker said Minister Paye is showing, he expressed no doubts in the Inspectors’ resolve to ‘man’ the mining sector when it comes to getting the job done as required by their Terms of Reference (TOR).

In all of his public statements concerning the responsibility of the Ministry of Mines and Energy to properly administer the activities of mining in Liberia, Minister Wilmot Paye has not minced his words in making sure unacceptable mining practices and procedures are discouraged. In order to tackle those bad practices, the Minister has spoken about making available needed working tools, motorbikes and establishing county offices to enhance field operations. Reports say, the Ministry (MME), is getting closer to actualizing this ambitious plan which is also seeking to make the Ministry’s presence in mining locations more visible.

Another report says, the Ministry of Mines and Energy could achieve this very important plan when the 2025 fiscal budget of the Government becomes operationalized. Agatius Coker’s principal assistant in the Mines Inspectorate Division is Adolphus Gleekai. Together, they are supervising a sizeable number of trained Mineral Inspectors.