Monrovia – The Liberian Maritime Authority, home to the world’s largest Open Registry, has announced the renewal of its historic maritime partnership with the People’s Republic of China. 

This agreement, designed to foster stronger relations between the two nations, promises significant economic advantages for vessels registered under the Liberian flag, according to the Liberia Maritime Authority.

The agreement was officially signed by Neto Zarzar Lighe Sr., Commissioner of the Liberia Maritime Authority, and Hon. Li Xiaopeng, Minister of Transport for the People’s Republic of China.

As part of the renewal, Liberian-flagged vessels will continue to enjoy preferential tonnage dues when calling at any Chinese port. “We are pleased to reaffirm this vital agreement with the People’s Republic of China,” stated Commissioner Lighe. 

“This partnership not only provides significant economic advantages to our fleet but also strengthens Liberia’s position as the preferred flag for international shipping.”

The agreement places Liberia in a highly competitive position compared to other flag states that lack formal diplomatic ties with China. For instance, vessels registered under the Marshall Islands flag do not benefit from the same port dues discounts in Chinese ports. 

This preferential treatment for Liberian vessels not only enhances operational efficiency but also solidifies Liberia’s standing as a global leader in the shipping industry.

In addition to financial benefits, the agreement offers operational advantages, such as expedited customs procedures and streamlined port formalities for Liberian vessels in Chinese ports. 

Chinese authorities have committed to minimizing delays for Liberian-flagged ships, thereby improving the reliability and efficiency of their operations.

This renewed partnership is a strategic win for Liberia, further bolstering its maritime sector and reinforcing its position as a top choice for international shipping.

Monrovia – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Liberia has granted China Union a temporary permit, allowing the company to resume operations for three months. This decision gives China Union the opportunity to fully comply with the Environmental Protection and Management Law of Liberia (EMPL). The permit was issued following China Union’s payment of US$20,000 as part-payment of a US$120,000 fine imposed by the EPA. The company has also committed to adhering to the EMPL requirements.

Background on the Temporary Closure:
The EPA had ordered the closure of China Union due to the company’s failure to comply with environmental regulations. Despite multiple efforts, including a field assessment at the China Union facility on June 18, 2023, the company was unresponsive to EPA’s invitation for a technical and administrative conference scheduled for June 27, 2024. The EPA subsequently issued a “Notice of Fine” on June 28, 2024, to China Union and other mining operations in Gbarpolu County for violations of Liberia’s Environmental Protection and Management Law. China Union was fined US$120,000, payable to the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA). Despite further reminders from the EPA, the company failed to meet the compliance requirements.

Under Section 95, subsections h and i of the EMPL, China Union’s operations were temporarily shut down due to noncompliance, including failure to complete the required Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) process and pay the imposed fine.

Steps Taken by China Union:
On September 2, 2024, China Union’s management acknowledged their violation of the EMPL and committed to achieving full compliance. They officially appealed to the EPA for a temporary permit, seeking 3-6 months to rectify their status and achieve compliance. The company also requested a waiver of the fine, citing their lack of active operations over the past six months and emphasizing the importance of Public-Private Partnership.

Conditions for Reopening China Union
In response to China Union’s appeal, the EPA has agreed to reopen the company under specific conditions.

It called on China Union to pay US$20,000 as part of the US$120,000 fine into the Liberia Revenue Authority’s account. This payment has been made, as evidenced by the attached LRA receipt; a three-month temporary permit has been issued to China Union, allowing them to regularize their operations while complying with the EMPL. The receipt for the payment of the temporary permit fee is also attached.

That the temporary permit is granted based on the settlement of these payments and the company’s commitment to compliance.

The EPA reaffirms its dedication to maintaining a clean, healthy, and safe environment for current and future generations. It remains resolute in enforcing Liberia’s Environmental Protection and Management Law and ensuring that all projects requiring an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment permit adhere to the law.

Fuamah, Bong County – China Union, the Chinese company that admitted to abandoning nearly all of its responsibilities under its Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) in Liberia, is attempting to repair its image in Bong County by making contributions to local education and healthcare.

By Wremongar Joe & Joseph Tumbey

Last week, the company presented a $25,000 cheque to the Fuamah Scholarship Committee to support deserving students in advancing their education. Additionally, China Union donated $1,000 worth of school materials and provided over $2,000 in medical supplies to the Fuamah Hospital.

These actions come after a specialized House Joint Committee found China Union in gross violation of its commitments under the MDA. Following the committee’s investigation, the Liberian House of Representatives imposed fines and mandated the company to contribute $40,000 in school supplies and drugs within six months. In response, China Union has moved quickly to rehabilitate the Bong Mines-Handii Road as part of its efforts to comply with the House’s directives.

China Union has also paid $150,000 to the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation, fulfilling a long-overdue social security contribution for its employees.

To verify China Union’s interventions and understand how the district plans to equitably distribute the scholarship funds, our reporter traveled to Fuamah.

The “Fuamah District Scholarship Fund Account” is managed by Massaquoi Shine Shilling, Chairman of the Scholarship Committee and Principal of Children of Africa School System in Bong Mines; Hampton B. Giddings, Commissioner of Fuamah District; and Frederick G. David, Chairman of the Fuamah District Citizens Association.

Commissioner Giddings expressed his mixed emotions about the community finally receiving some benefits from China Union, a company that has extracted iron ore for years without contributing to the local area. “We want to thank our new lawmaker, Hon. Foday E. Fahnbulleh, for making this possible. Without him, we wouldn’t be talking about money from China Union today,” Giddings said. “For me, it is God working through him to help the poor people of our land who lack the power and voice to make change happen.”

Massaquoi Shine Shilling, Chairman of the Fuamah Scholarship Committee, noted that this is the first time China Union has made a direct payment to the host community in all the years it has operated in the district. “We want to thank our District #7 lawmaker. We have been here year in and year out, and to know that China Union can give this kind of money for the young people in our district, especially for education, is still surprising to some of us,” Shilling remarked. He assured that the funds would be used to support the education of “deserving youths” in Fuamah, with full accountability by the committee.

Representative Foday E. Fahnbulleh of District #7 in Bong County posted a copy of the scholarship funding cheque on Facebook and sent a letter of appreciation to China Union Investment Company. He thanked the company for complying with its social responsibilities under the MDA and for providing the first installment of $25,000 out of the agreed $50,000 for scholarship support. Fahnbulleh also expressed hope for the remaining $25,000 to fully implement the scholarship program.

When asked if he was satisfied with China Union’s recent commitments, Rep. Fahnbulleh stated that while he was hopeful the scholarship scheme would positively impact the youth, his satisfaction would depend more on his constituents’ perception of the company’s operations than on any monetary contribution. He also raised serious accusations against China Union, alleging that the company had secretly flipped ownership to another entity without informing the Liberian government.

“If they changed ownership and are now owned and operated by another state-owned company, they should have informed us. We, as a nation, have the right to know,” Fahnbulleh asserted.

Our investigation found that China Union, which operates the iron ore mining concession in Bong County, is currently owned by China Baowu Steel Group, a Chinese state-owned enterprise. This ownership change occurred after China Union (Hong Kong) Mining Co., Ltd. went bankrupt in 2015. China Baowu, one of the largest steel producers globally, has since taken over the operations and is actively involved in shipping iron ore from Liberia. This marks a significant shift from the original ownership by China Union (Hong Kong) Mining Co., Ltd., the initial investor in the Bong Mines project.

Despite these developments, China Union, known for its tight-lipped approach to public matters, has not commented on the latest accusations regarding its ownership

Bong Mines- Bong County–China Union has embarked on road rehabilitation in Fuamah, Bong County District #7, following significant pressure from the House of Representatives.

The company is currently reconditioning the road from Haindii to Kakata, in compliance with the mandate of the House’s Plenary.

A visit to Bong Mines over the weekend revealed numerous China Union earth-moving equipment working on the 17km road, which has been in disrepair for many years.

The current work on the road by the once-heralded $2.6 billion Chinese mining firm is part of a series of mandates given to the company in April after a Joint Legislative Investigative Committee found it in gross breach of its Mineral Development Agreement (MDA).

The committee report accused China Union of neglecting nearly all its responsibilities under the MDA, including failure to honor corporate social responsibilities and failure to pay benefits to host communities despite extracting millions of tons of ore over the years.

The report stated, “The delegation discovered that there is complete noncompliance by China Union in accordance with the MDA.”

The investigation also uncovered a wide range of additional breaches, such as subcontracting agreements with other Chinese companies without the knowledge and involvement of the Liberian government, the construction of a factory, and the importation of chemicals.

Acting on the investigative report, the House’s plenary mandated China Union to address several short- and long-term requirements.

These include the immediate commencement of all social security remittances, payments to the communities, regular renovation of all roads in the Goma and non-Goma deposit areas, and provision of the annual special benefit of $3.5 million.

Before the Plenary’s decision, China Union, in a communication to the joint committee on February 22, 2024, admitted lapses in executing its MDA and blamed unnamed challenges for neglecting its responsibilities to the communities.

Following the Plenary’s mandate, Fuamah-Sannoyea District Representative Foday Fahnbulleh said, “I have not rested, and I will ensure that after 15 years of treating our people like nothing, China Union will pay its fair share of commitment to our communities.”

He told our reporter that apart from the road rehabilitation work, China Union will be made to recondition the Bong Mines Hospital and the Bong Central High School and run these facilities in accordance with the MDA.

“We have toured the Kakata-Haindii road, all of the non-Goma roads, the Bong Mines Hospital facilities, and the Bong Central High School with the management and technical engineers of China Union and await their response,” he said, stressing, “Legislative oversight and corporate accountability are the way to lasting development in Liberia.”

Meanwhile, residents along the Kakata-Haindii road have praised Fahnbulleh and the House for mounting pressure on China Union over the last three months to ensure the company delivers for them. Roland Myers, one of the residents in Fuamah, said, “We are happy that our vote is not wasted.

We trust that our lawmaker will be on their back and they will do what they are supposed to do.”

“China Union has disrespected us and treated us with no regard, and we are tired, but we are thankful that something good is happening,” said another resident.

“Look at the train they carry the iron ore in, look at the communities they are taking the iron ore from, and see how we live here, my brother.

The Chinese people don’t mean well. I think they must leave,” said Martha Sumo, who lives in Fuamah. “My brother, does this place look like a place where a million-dollar company is working?” she questioned, expressing frustration over the lack of water, good schools, and clinics.

China Union says that it has now “commenced operations” and is working to ramp up production capacity to the maximum feasible level. “We are determined to remain in full compliance with our MDA and all its related responsibilities,” the company stated.

When Ellen Johnson Sirleaf assumed the presidency of Liberia in January 2006, she repeatedly assured the Liberian people that her administration would focus on creating employment, particularly within the mining sector. This sector was identified as crucial for addressing the country’s high unemployment rate.

In 2007, hopes were initially pinned on a billion-dollar partnership with steel giant ArcelorMittal, but the global financial crisis dampened the project’s outcomes.

Optimism was reignited in April 2010 when the then largest agreement in Liberia’s history, valued at $2.6 billion, was signed with China Union. China Union paid an initial $40 million signature fee before commencing full-scale operations.

However, the MDA made with China Union for mining exploration in central Liberia—one of Liberia’s largest mining regions—like many controversial Chinese investments across Africa, has turned out to be almost a failure in terms of employment, social benefits, and living up to the terms of the agreement.

MONROVIA – The Management of China Union has acknowledged several lapses in compliance with the implementation of the Mineral Development Agreement signed with the Liberian government in 2009.

By Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com

The mining company’s admittance comes following a communication to the House of Representatives by Bong County District #7 Representative, Foday Fahnbulleh. 

In his communication to Plenary, Rep. Fahnbulleh complained the Chinese mining company to the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives over the gross failure to fully implement the MDA at the disadvantage of citizens. 

The company operates in Bong Mines, Fuamah District, where Rep. Fahnbulleh serves as a lawmaker.

The company was recently cited to a hearing by the House’s Committee on Lands, Mines, Natural Resources and Environment, headed by Maryland County lawmaker P. Mark Jurry.

Following the hearing, Rep. Jurry mandated the Sergeant-at-Arms at the House of Representatives to detain the Deputy Manager of the company, Shen Yi Hong, who represented the company for his failure to provide detailed explanation about the operations of the company.

Mr. Hong was later released on bond and was instructed to aid the committee with all necessary documents about the operations of the company as requested.

Less than a week after the hearing, the company officially wrote the House of Representatives through the Lands, Mines, Natural Resources and Environment, acknowledging what Rep. Fahnbulleh said in his communication to plenary.

In the communication, a copy of which is in the possession of FPA, China Union recommended several proposals to the House, which are intended to enhance the desired results demanded by the Committee.

Among the proposals are immediate-term intervention which will run for the period of ninety days and medium term intervention which goes for a hundred and eighty days.

Under the immediate term intervention, the company promised to set up a joint working group to identify feasible intervention activities that can be implemented in the immediate and medium terms and to initiate the implementation of immediate term activities.

The medium term intervention will see the regularization of all non-compliances and a joint plan for an early review of the MDA.

Bong Mines, Bong County – Jerry Dennis, a father of five, worked as a fuel supplier for China Union before the company shut down five years into its agreement, laying him off along with over three hundred workers. Now, Jerry rides a motorcycle, collecting small fares for his daily bread.

Report by Mae Azango maeazango@frontpageafricaonline.com

“The government told us that the company has the right to put us down or lay us off whenever the company have economic crisis.

So, since it was the government who brought China Union here to suffer us, let the government tell China Union to pay us, or we will stage a demonstration, then it will call the government attention” – Solomon Tweh, Redundant China Union Worker 

“My man, please pay my money because this is what I do for a living to feed my family,” pleads Jerry Dennis to a passenger on his motorcycle, Jerry is a worker who was made redundant by China Union in 2015. 

China Union, which signed a 25-year concession agreement in January 2009 to mine iron ore in Bong Mines, near Kakata, pulled out in 2015 after a fall in the price of iron ore on the world market. Shortly thereafter, China Union laid off 117 workers. In the following months, the total rose to 302 workers.  

Like Jerry, many of those workers are demanding benefits and overtime payments from the company, which now has only a small skeleton staff on the ground after its top officials fled during the Ebola crisis. 

Employment Letters exhibited by the spokesman for the aggrieved workers showed that some workers were in the employ of the company for two years, while others were employed for shorter periods of six months to a year.

Now, the redundant workers are demanding pay for an hour of overtime for every day they worked for the company, which they say they were entitled to but went unpaid.  

“We were supposed to work from 8:AM to 4:PM but we were working up to 5:PM, so China Union owes us one hour overtime, and they do not want to pay us. 

The Labor Ministry is aware, while David Sackor, Secretary General of the Liberia Labor Congress, responsible for the workers welfare, is not doing anything about the situation,” Jerry says. 

Section 11.1(a) of the concession agreement between China Union and the government of Liberia states the following: “In consistent with applicable Law, the Government, upon request of the Concessionaire or any of its employees, will use reasonable efforts to facilitate the resolution of any dispute that arises between the Concessionaire and any of its employees.” 

Solomon Tweh, 36, and a father of four, is another aggrieved worker who was an auto mechanic for China Union. Tweh, who is the spokesman for the workers, added to Jerry’s story, claiming that the company issued them a handbook which said they were to be given two months’ severance pay for every twelve months they worked if they were laid off.

But Tweh says that when they were made redundant, the government rushed to the defense of the company, allowing the workers to only be paid one additional month rather than the two he claims was promised in the handbook. 

Addressing Tweh’s allegation that the company paid the laid-off workers only one month’s salary for every twelve months they worked instead of the two months they were due, a Labor Ministry representative said that according to Liberia’s labor law, laid off workers are owed payment of only one month for every twelve, and that thus the company was not in violation of the labor law.

Sackor disputes the workers’ claim, saying there is no way the company’s hand book would contradict labor law, and that a draft of the handbook was reviewed by the Labor Authority. 

Some of the laid off workers, who came to Bong Mines from other counties to seek employment with the company, complain they are now stuck in the town, unable to return to their respective counties.

They say they do not have money for transportation and cannot afford to be absent should the company return to pay them the overtime wages they claim they’re owed. 

“The government told us that the company has the right to put us down or lay us off whenever the company have economic crisis.”

“So, since it was the government who brought China Union here to suffer us, let the government tell China Union to pay us, or we will stage a demonstration, then it will call the government attention,” says Tweh.

But David Sackor, Secretary General of the Liberia Labor Congress, scoffed at his threat. 

“How can redundant workers threaten strike when they are no longer working? 

Does it make sense for a man who is not working to strike? If they feel it is the best way to address their problem, let them go ahead and see how far they will go,” he says. 

Sackor adds that the mission of the Labor Congress is to advocate for better working conditions, and to make sure that if workers are laid off, they receive just benefits, as each worker pays two percent of his or her salary as monthly dues to the union. 

“We have gone through redundancy at China Union more than two or three times. China Union paid the workers off and if the company is to start operations again, those laid off would be the first to be called for employment,” says Sackor. 

“We addressed those issues about the overtime a long time ago, so nobody can tell me now that they are demanding overtime from the company. What we are thinking about now is reemployment of the company,” he said. 

Despite his role as a worker’s representative, Sackor defends China Union, saying the company was affected by a drop in the price of iron ore on the world market, and that since it was unable to ship iron ore for more than a year, it was not able to keep all of the workers and was forced to lay them off. 

China Union has a troubled history in the county. Prior to the Ebola crisis, civil society groups highlighted complaints by locals in Bong Mines, including physical abuse of workers, environmental damage, and unpaid resettlement fees.

In an April 17th press release responding to allegations made in a FrontPageAfrica story on environmental damage in Bong Mines, China Union addressed the claims made by redundant workers that they’re owed overtime.  

“Employees that were redundant as a result of drastic fall in the price of iron ore were paid in line with the Labor Laws of Liberia.

The Local Union, the Mother Union and GOL through the Ministry of Labor were fully involved in the implementation process. Some of the redundant workers will be recalled as soon as operations resume.” 

Contradicting Sackor, and the company’s recent press release, a representative of the Labor Ministry admitted that China Union owes the redundant workers overtime wages. 

“Under the law when you are redundant you are entitled to just earning and not benefits, but when we investigated, we found out that China Union owed many of the workers for overtime.

Because instead of working from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., many workers worked from 8-5, so we told the company to pay the workers overtime.

But the Company said that they were going to celebrate a holiday in China and that when they return in March, we will discuss on how payment for the workers was going to be done,” Says Emmett Crayton, Assistant Labor Minister for Trade Union and Social Dialogue. 

Regarding the redundant workers and their unpaid wages, Margibi County District #4 Representative Ben Fofana said: “I once heard of some workers demanding payment, but I forwarded the complaint to the Ministry of Labor and they handled it. Apart from that, I have not gotten any other complaint.”

For Jerry, the unpaid wages remain a source of frustration. “My family knows that I came to Bong Mines to work, but I am forced to ride bike to feed us.

Now I am regretting the day I ever agreed to work for China Union. If I had made farm to survive, it would have been far better than slaving for a billionaire company that cannot even complete my just payment,” he says.

This story was produced in collaboration with New Narratives and the Thomson Reuters Foundation with funding from German Development Cooperation. The founder had no say in the story’s content

Neplole Kollie Town, Margibi – “I expected good to come from China Union,” says Oldman Sackie, an elder in this town, established in 1966, few hours’ drive from Kakata, the main city in Margibi County.”

Report by Mae Azango maeazango@frontpageafricaonline.com

“It was once host to German owned-Bong Mining Company and now plays host to China Union.

“Life was suitable for us when we worked for BMC. Development was here; and we had electricity 24/7.

“The school system was good for our children; we had a clinic.”

“I am going to make sure China Union fixes every mess they created before they can commence any other operations.

“The President has mandated that before we go into any negotiation or renegotiation with any concession company, we should first go and find out the previous violations and make sure it is fixed.”

But things have been very different since China Union started operations in 2010.

An angry Sackie now says the community has suffered environmental damage and has seen so little benefit in terms of jobs and social development he’d have preferred the company had not come here at all.  

“We drink water from a well that is muddy, because China Union has polluted our creeks with their chemicals,” says Oldman Sackie, born in 1946, 20 years before the mining began in the area.”

“They have not installed any hand pump for us to have safe drinking water. We no longer grow rice or cassava because the chemical has also damaged the soil, so nothing grows here; people now have to go far away from the villages in order to make farms.”

From the 1970s to the start of the civil war in 1989, life for inhabitants of Bong Mines was booming according to locals who remember the era.

The company not only provided jobs for people in its concession areas but also for jobseekers, who came from other places. 

Locals hoped China Union would mean a return to those days. But by the time China Union stopped operations in 2015 after the Ebola crisis and a massive plunge in the global price of iron ore, many workers were left unpaid, social development was minimal and there was extensive environment damage that has endangered the lives of people here.

Now that iron ore prices have recovered China Union wants to restart operations here. Locals say that cannot happen until the company has made good on its previous commitments and there is a guarantee of better oversight by government agencies going forward.

China Union’s 25-year Mineral Development Agreement with the Liberian government required the company to contribute US$3.5M to the counties of Bong, Montserrado and Margibi each year in a Social Development Fund that was to be spent on county infrastructure improvements including water and sanitation projects, clinics and schools.

The money was paid to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, local legislators then lead a County Sitting Council that determined how that money was spent. Bong should have received more than US$8 million from China Union since 2010.

The MDA also spelled out how China Union should pay local workers. Front Page Africa will investigate these aspects of China Union’s activities in future reporting.

Residents’ biggest complaint here now is the environmental damage that has left them without safe drinking water and pollutants destroying their farms.

The MDA has extensive requirements for environmental planning to ensure damage to waterways and farmlands was limited and affected people were compensated when damage was unavoidable. Residents say none of that has happened.

Since the company pulled out, residents of affected towns and villages say the water pollution has increased, leaving the inhabitants with no choice but to continue drinking waters from polluted creeks.

During a tour with journalists to view the creeks, Town Chief Amos Kollie of Neploleh Kollie Town, pointed to brown-greenish creek waters.

Town Chief Kollie parted one of the creeks with his hands and dipped a cup full, and drank it, in an illustration of how residents are forced to drink the polluted waters.

“The creek water we drink, we also use it for fishing, washing and bathing,” says Town Chief Kollie.

“But the company has polluted the water. Sometimes the water can run people stomach (diarrhea), but we are still drinking the water because we do not have any other choice.”

In nearby Bloumue Town, Chief Sekou Sumbai says residents are also suffering from similar issues, drinking from a nearby creek that is in the same condition as that of Neploleh Kollie Town.

Sumbai says residents are surviving by the mercy of God, as chemicals from the company are spilled into creeks and soil.  

Civil society actors say that full disclosure of the agreement was not made to affected communities before the company commenced operations.

According to Jackson Speare, Coordinator for the Secretariat of the CSO Consortium on Natural Resources, the first stage of the concession implementation process is to make sure that an environmental and social impact assessment is conducted long before the concession begins operations in any community, and that the community should be involved in that process.

“In the China Union case, this is exactly what we are seeing,” says Mr. Speare.

“The government did not make full disclosure to the people. Had they done so, those concession areas’ inhabitants would not have been complaining now about pollution. “

“They would have said ‘If our water will be polluted during your operations, then we need an alternative source of drinking water,’” said Speare

“The environmental degradation in these towns and villages is so huge, you see the sewage pipes of the company, emptying into the various water bodies in these towns and villages located under the mines.”

“During one of our assessments, we took pictures of the pollution and showed them to the lawmakers representing these people in the National Legislature. Unfortunately, nothing has been done by those lawmakers to help their own people. You cannot even sit outside in Sackie Town to eat without being invaded by flies.”

According to Section 5.3 of the concession agreement between China Union and the government of Liberia, the company is required to carry out an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and produce an environmental management plan.

The government agency responsible for oversight, the National Bureau of Concessions, says that it inspected the operations of the company a few months after it began and before they pulled out, and found out that it was not operating in accordance with the agreement regarding pollution and environmental degradation. 

“We issued several citations, warning the company of the pollution,” says Ciatta Bishop, Director of the National Bureau of Concessions.”

““This has been one of my biggest fights with the company. When the Inter-Ministerial Committee visited up there, we saw several violations.

The water is horrible, the company’s violations in terms of EPA violations are gross and I cannot defend those issues.”

“The Inter-Ministerial Committee did a follow-up in 2015 and we invited the EPA, but they did not show up.

China Union did not build a dam which was a problem, because you cannot be mining and washing and have free flow of the waste,” Bishop added. 

Locals say the Environmental Protection Agency has not sent inspectors to monitor for last four years the company operated.

When the EPA was reached by FrontPageAfrica, they promised to send inspectors to those affected communities before getting back with official comments.

The EPA is yet to come forth with a response.

Bishop showed FPA a letter she sent to China Union in 2014, just before the Ebola crisis, stressing that the environmental issues were paramount.

In the letter, she pointed out that the Bureau had issues with the water pollution, but also with the concession reporting requirements, a poorly built school, and other issues.

“We had these issues because the company had not provided us an environmental update, neither an ESIA update,” says Bishop.

“When Ebola hit, the company’s international staff left and then we started having serious environmental problems.”

Now the price of iron ore has risen again China Union has asked to restart operations. Bishop vows to ensure China Union cleans up these problems first. 

“I am going to make sure China Union fixes every mess they created before they can commence any other operations,” she says.

“The President has mandated that before we go into any negotiation or renegotiation with any concession company, we should first go and find out the previous violations and make sure it is fixed.” 

China Union’s Communications Officer Morris Tate asked journalists to request an interview through written communications.

However, after a written request was submitted, Tate informed journalists via mobile phone that the company was about to commence operations and would not speak until it recommenced operations. 

Meanwhile, one lawmaker representing the counties affected by China Union says he is unaware of what is going on with the concession.

“This is the first time this is coming to my knowledge that people in my district around the China Union operations do not have safe drinking water,” says Representative Ben Fofana of Margibi District #4. He said funds for the district had been held up in a dispute with the Superintendent.

“If the Superintendent Office had given the nearly US$800,000.00 given by the company for use by the county, we would have settled the poor drinking water problems.”

“But we have been struggling over this money ever since the company started operations. The Superintendent’s office has refused to turn the money over to my district office.  

“We do not see what development is being done with the money, but if the money was given to my office, we would have built hand pumps and provided safe drinking water for the people.”

“But since the Superintendent refused to turn the funds over, the citizens will continue to suffer,” Representative Fofana further said.

Efforts to contact Superintendent John Buway for a chance to respond to Fofana’s allegation were unsuccessful.                  

As to whether Ms Bishop remains in office by the time China Union recommences operations or not to enforce the Environmental law, citizen’s sanitation problems still remain a health challenge for them and their children. 

“No clinic is here, when we are sick, your people put you in a hammock and carried you for two hours to Bong Mines for treatment.”

“Sometimes people can die on the way to the hospital,” says Oldman Sackie.

“Therefore, I want to tell the government that since we are low class citizens, when they are making the laws, it should include us; they should not just sit in Monrovia and decide for us. “

“Because the only time our lawmakers and those running to be president come here, is to run their campaigns, and when they leave, we do not see them again. So, it means the government is selling us to those concessions.”

This story was produced in collaboration with New Narratives and the Thomson Reuters Foundation with funding from German Development Cooperation. The funder had no say in the story’s content

Fuamah, Bong County (LINA) – The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of China Union Investment in Bong Mines, Lee Zhi Xiang, has reaffirmed his company’s commitment to remain fully engaged with the people of Liberia despite the numerous challenges being faced by the company.

Xiang said his company intends to implement more development projects through its community empowerment programs, but regretted that it is currently unable to do so due to the current financial difficulties the company is facing.

The China Union CEO made the statement in Bong Mines, Fuamah District, Lower Bong County over the weekend at a one-day Community Engagement Activity.

He assured citizens of the district that China Union will undertake numerous development initiatives in the various communities within its concession area in an effort to foster peaceful coexistence with the community.

Xiang stressed that though the company will not ignore the many challenges it is faced with, it will at all times remain engaged in developmental activities in order to better the lives of the people of Fuamah in particular and Bong County in general.

In response, Fuamah District Commissioner Hampton Giddings thanked the management of China Union for the assurance and admonished the company’s management team to increase its development projects in the district as the financial crisis improves.

Giddings noted that constant engagement will bring the company closer to the people, and will help dispel the negative perception some people have about the company.

Richard D. Baysah, LINA Margibi County Correspondent

Bong Mines, Bong County – China Union, a billion dollar mining company operating in Bong Mines, Fuamah District in Bong County, appears to be facing bankruptcy in the wake of slump in the price of iron ore on the world market, a FrontPageAfrcia tour of the company’s facility has established.

Report by Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com

The company’s investment is worth US$ 2.6 billion, but has found it extremely difficult to maintain its current workforce seemingly due to economic challenges posed by market factors.

The company, according to inside sources, has not exported iron ore since July 2014. A FrontPage Africa tour of the iron ore processing plant – the area the ore processing was done – showed the idle machines are becoming rusty.  

The dramatic reduction of the company’s staff, both Liberians and expatriates, and the company’s decision to sell crushed rocks to vendors and use its train for commercial purposes are a few examples that highlight the struggle it is enduring in the wake of these global circumstances.

As part of a 25-year Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) with the Liberian government, the company was responsible to operate the Bong Mines Hospital, which is the only referral hospital in lower Bong County.

And it was the MDA that raised the hopes of residents of Bong Mines in an underdeveloped district, especially after President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf during a state of the nation address in 2007 announced that the company would provide over 4,000 jobs for Liberians.

Besides the renovation of the Zaweata School, now Bong Mines Central High, the renovation of the Bong Mines Hospital which provided free medical care to residents of the district and nearby areas, the construction of the 45 km Kakata-Bong Mines road by the company offered residents hope that a new day in their lives had dawned.

The US$1.7 million annual social development fund to Bong County by China Union also gave them hope that life would be better by the end of the concession period.But a decade after, their hopes have been dashed with frustration as many, including Liberian workers; continue to feel the pinch from the crisis facing the company.

FrontPage Africa’s investigation revealed a drastic reduction in the number of staff. There are 10 Chinese expatriates currently in the employ of China Union while the 300 Liberian workers have been reduced to 35. The Liberian workers complained that they have not received the consignment of rice they had been receiving at the end of every quarter.

Despite the crisis facing the company, preferential treatment continues for its Chinese workers, FrontPage Africa has gathered.

Chinese expatriates at China Union are fed three times a day while Liberians who take on the difficult jobs are fed once, inside sources told FrontPage Africa.

Besides, expatriates are said to be given a monthly transportation allowance of US$650 while Liberians are given US$15 dollars, our sources furthered.

More redundancy of staff likely?                                

Tension is brewing among the small number of Liberians left at the company after last month’s downsizing over 100 staff.

Already, those who were dismissed by the company are crying foul that the company failed to live up to the collective bargaining agreement they signed with they signed, a claim the company’s Public Relation Officer, Moses Tate has refuted.

Prince Forkpa, who worked with the company for more than five years, said it was discouraging that they were sacked without their just benefits.

“The company promised to pay every one of us during the negotiation we entered into but to my surprise, they have not done anything yet.”

Another staff, Obediah Kollie, who worked with the company for six years explained similar ordeal, saying: “I can’t understand what is going on my brother.

Up to now the company hasn’t paid the money owed us. We are contemplating taking the company to court.”

The company’s Public Relation Officer, Moses Tate, refuted the dismissed workers’ claims, terming it as diabolical. He said at no point in time did China Union go into negotiations with employees of the company.

“We are aware of the unfavorable global climate situation affecting our operations then how will we promise over 100 employees of remittances. It’s a lie!” he said.

FrontPage Africa reliably also gathered that the company is finally contemplating on parting ways with the less than 10 Liberian staff in its employ.

Tate said the impending move by the company would bring an end to the company’s operations in the country.

Another strategy being employed by the company is to get involved in the sale of crushed rocks extracted during the mining of iron ore during active operation.

Every truckload is sold for US$60, and if the vendor wants to use the Chinese truck, that is negotiable.

The sale of the truckload of crushed rocks by the Chinese also affects Liberian businesses involved in the sale of crushed rocks in Bong Mines, as buyers come from faraway places like Kakata daily to transact.

On a sunny Wednesday, a buyer only identified as Beatrice said she took interest in buying from the Chinese because theirs is less expensive than that sold by Liberians. 

“We buy the truckload of rocks from the Chinese very cheap more than our own people. Can you imagine, the Chinese will help you to load it while our own people will charge you for loading, money different from what you will pay them,” she added.

Train use for commercial purpose

Perhaps the major source of income for China Union is to commercialize the train.

The train was used to transport Liberian workers of the company to their various areas but after the company became inactive, the train began serving different purposes.

It takes people as far as Duala and the St. Paul Bridge in Monrovia. It takes up to 400 passengers and charges each passenger 100 Liberian dollars.

Local residents from nearby towns and villages troop to a particular location as early as 7:AM to board the train every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

A mother of two, Nae Younger Peabody, told FrontPageAfrcia that she has been using the train for commercial purposes for the past three months and it has helped make life easier.

“I don’t have to go as far as Kakata before boarding a vehicle to go Monrovia again. The train has made it easier for us, especially we the business people,” she said.

The Bong Mines hospital is one institution facing the brunt of the company’s near collapse.

At first, the company provided drugs to the hospital and helped pay workers at the clinic. For now, the company’s involvement with the clinic has been minimal, amid drugs shortage.

The problems confronting the company appear to be very serious, as it has failed to renovate houses it promised for the workers.

The workers last year demanded shelter from China Union, something they said was part of the company’s social responsibility. 

Even though construction on a few houses started and is yet to be completed, the China Union appears not to have kept its promise to residents as it has gone 10 years without meeting their demands.

Have locals benefited after 10 years?

What was seen as a beacon of hope for locals of the district has been replaced by anger and frustration. The locals in a FrontPageAfrica interview said the presence of the company has done nothing for the district.

“What have they done for us? They said they are giving us US$2 million in development fund but there are not enough schools and hospitals for us the beneficiaries.

This is disappointing,” Prince Smith, a student of Bong Mines School, told FrontPageAfrica. 

When contacted via mobile phone, Rep. Corpu Barclay of Bong’s District #7 which plays host to the company, could not heap nor slam the company for its 10 years presence in the district.

 “There have been some good things the company has done though not comparatively much as many would but I think the level of employment given to citizens by the company was rewarding.”

As China Union prepares to shut its door on Liberia and Part Company with its last batch of Liberians in its employ, the views among residents about the company’s decade of operations are contrary to the lawmaker’s opinion about China Union.