Monrovia – The Plenary of the House of Representatives has urged the management of Sime Darby Plantation Liberia (SDPL) to cooperate in order to find amicable solution to the disturbing situation at the company’s plantation in western Liberia.
Report by Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected]
Members of the House are probing the Malaysian oil palm company for the alleged torture of a Liberian man by its security officers. The brutal act, which allegedly occurred on the oil palm plantation, is captured in a video that has gone viral on social media.
Based on this allegation, the management team was summoned last Thursday to explain what it knows about the disturbing video showing a Liberian man being tortured for allegedly stealing a bunch of fresh palm nuts.
At the first hearing on Thursday, April 19, 2018, the lawmakers said they were not satisfied with the response from the management team and scheduled another hearing for Tuesday, April 24, 2018 to state why they shouldn’t be held in contempt.
The Tuesday’s hearing was more elaborate and convincing, according to the lawmakers.
The SDPL management team apologized for whatever it has done wrong on the first appearance that did not go in the right direction for the lawmakers.
The management team was asked to cooperate with the plenary to mitigate the situation at hand.
However, the lawmakers maintained that the management team is still being held on contempt charges if it does not cooperate with the specialized committee setup by Speaker Bhofal Chambers to authenticate what went wrong.
The specialized committee was setup following a cross examination of witness David Parker, the firm’s General Manager.
Following Parker’s deliberation, the Speaker called an executive session to and upon their return, a motion was filed by Lofa County Representative, Francis Nyumali for the plenary to setup a committee that will ascertain what happened at the plantation.
The motion also mandates the committee to find out whether the company is in compliance with the agreement signed with the Liberian Government among other key issues in the agreement.
Members of the specialized committee include Representatives Tibelrosa Summoh Tarponweh (Montserrado Dist 6) Chairman, Rustolyn Suacoco Dennis (Montserrado District #4) Co-chair, Johnson Gwaikolo (Nimba Dist. #9) Matthew Zarzar (Sinoe Dist. #3), Beyan Howard Mensah (Lofa Dist. #5), Edwin Snowe (Bomi Dist. #2) and Mabu Sonii grand Cape Mount).
Meanwhile, the management of Sime Darby has appreciated the plenary of the House for the manner in which they are handling the situation at hand and vowed to fully cooperate.
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