One of Firestone Liberia’s social impact goals is inclusive and accessible education. The Firestone School System consists of 23 schools which start from pre-K to 12^th grade. Children and families of Firestone’s teammates can attend Firestone’s Schools tuition-free. The Firestone School System employs over 250 educators and administrators and has an enrollment of about 7,000 students each year. In addition, the Company invests $150,000 annually in scholarships for higher education opportunities for both teammates’ dependents and for qualifying students from around the country.  Firestone Liberia’s commitment to excellence in education has been key in shaping the lives of both its teammates and their families. This unwavering dedication is demonstrated by the exemplary performance of the 2023 Graduating Class of Firestone Senior High School, who celebrated their achievement at the 15^th Commencement Convocation of the Firestone Senior High School held this past Sunday, September 17.

This year’s graduation ceremony was marked by incredible pride in the Firestone Senior High School students and teachers. This year’s class saw 190 students passing both the national and school examinations to graduate from high school.

The commencement address was given by Julateh K. Mulbah, a Firestone Scholar and 2012 graduate of the Firestone School System. She has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Ashesi University in Ghana and a master’s degree in Micro Data Analysis from Dalarna University, Sweden. Julateh is now a data scientist who is passionate about sustainable development. Julateh encouraged the students at her alma matter to leverage technology to build businesses and grow their careers:

“Social media should not just be used for posting jokes or funny things; use it to leverage the opportunity to connect with people or search links that will improve your life. Remember that there is competition between you and so many others outside the walls of Firestone.”

Julateh’s story and the excellent performance by the Class of 2023 speak to the collective efforts and dedication of the students, their parents, teachers and school administrators, and Firestone’s investments in the community and youth of Liberia. Firestone School focuses on investing in talent through quality free education and valuable scholarship opportunities. This is all done while empowering students to pursue their dreams and unlock their full potential, which is why Firestone High School continues to make a lasting impact on the lives of its employees and the wider community.

Congratulations to the Class of 2023.

AT US$0.06, THEY were given 1 million acres of land for a 99 years lease by the government of President Charles Dunbar Burgess King in 1926.

WITH THE ACQUIESCENCE of the King administration, they forced many indigenous Liberians to work slavery hours for a pittance under slavery conditions.

THEY ESTABLISHED THE LARGEST rubber plantation in the world and at one point in time supplied the Allied Forces during World War II. They have maintained a stranglehold over the rubber industry since its entry into Liberia.

THEY KEPT THEIR TAPPERS in shanty zinc shacks while its foreign staff was chauffeured in frigid air conditioned cars.

CHILDREN OF TAPPERS NEVER enjoyed the amenities from the parents’ toil and sweat which made Firestone the largest and biggest rubber plantation in the world. Born to rubber tappers, they, too, like their parents, ended up as a rubber tapper, continuing that vicious cycle of dirt poverty.

DURING THE CIVIL WAR, AS revealed by the aptly titled documentary, “The Warlord and Firestone, the company surreptitiously funded the war by giving support to Charles Taylor in order to be protected and that support, cash or kind, led to the killings of over 250,000 Liberians and foreigners alike, including the murder of five American Catholic nuns which was allegedly done by men of Taylor’s NPFL. Karma can be a bitch, sometimes.

BARELY HAD THEY REACHED the end of their lease agreement which was in its 78th year in 2004 when the National Transitional Government of Charles Gyude Bryant added additional 33 years without taken into consideration that despite the long years of being in the country, Firestone Plantation Company had added little or no value to Liberia or the lives of its workers at the lowest of the ebb.

DURING ITS LONG YEARS of being in the country, they have not built a plant to produce all of Liberia’s needs—tyres, latex gloves etc., not even a single ‘ganga’ ball for the children of its dirt poor employees tapping rubber under inhumane conditions. They did not build a processing plant to produce animal feeds from rubber seeds in order to enhance the growth of the animal husbandry industry.

WHEN EBOLA STRUCK AND the country was in desperate need of rubber materials such as gloves which were lacking in many hospitals from Lofa to Maryland, they could not stand up and beat its chest proudly to announce that they would fill in a crucial gap since the country came into being in 1847.

HOWEVER, HOPES WERE raised by then President-elect Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf who promised to review every deal entered into by the Bryant led Transitional government, beginning with Firestone.

IT WAS THEN THE HOPE AND prayer of every Liberian that the deal would be not renewed but who were they hope on what happens to the future of their country? What Uncle Sam wants is what Uncle Sam gets. The sorrowful misery of neo-colonialism and having an enclave plantation-based economy.

COMPROMISES WERE REACHED, and well after a nearly a century of being in the country, they were coerced to provide semi-decent houses to those who toiled and broke their backs to made Firestone what it is, or used to be.

THEY WOULD GO ON A PUBLIC RELATIONS stunt to win a court case in America by placing students on glitzy billboards around Monrovia, touting them as smart for emerging with flying colors on the WAEC exams but impeccable sources at WAEC hinted us in years by that it was all far from the truth.

LITTLE WONDER WE HAVE not seen these billboards and students since they won the human rights abuse case brought against them by a child rights group.

AMID ALL OF THIS GLARING wrongdoings and misgivings on the part of Firestone, a bill recently emanated from the office of the President to the Legislature, seeking an amendment to the agreement Firestone signed with Liberia in order for the company to venture into agricultural activities.

WHAT A GRAVE TRAVESTY! FOR all of these years of being in Liberia, what can Firestone boast of or proudly be a part of?

BY GIVING FIRESTONE A CARTE Blanche to venture into agriculture the Liberian government is shooting itself in the leg in its failing desire to make the country self-sufficient. He who controls your stomach controls your life.

FIRESTONE HAS HAD US hamstrung in our own country, on our very own land for a very long time, beginning with its $5 million loan given to the King administration in 1926. A sovereign country went through hell and high water. Firestone brought in its Comptroller to Superintendent – money the government made a commitment to pay back.

IS FIRESTONE REALLY serious about agriculture? How then, since “Charlie King time” they did not engage in the production of rice to its employees but would instead have to resort to the importation of Pussawa rice?

CAN LIBERIAN FARMERS REALLY withstand Firestone’s might? Where does that leave them, also like owners of rubber farms whose sales of rubber were determined by Firestone until President Tolbert ask the Chinese to build a rubber processing belt in Gbarnga which riled the company at that meant it no longer had a monopoly over the price of rubber in Liberia.

AND SO AS THAT BILL GOES before our Legislators hearken to the cries of Liberians who don’t want another nail in the coffin of Firestone’s grip on Liberia. From the cheap sale of 1 million acres of land to build the biggest plantation in the world to the support of Charles Taylor in a war that killed over 250,000 Liberians and foreigners, Liberians have had enough from Firestone.

Monrovia – President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has submitted a bill seeking to amend for the second time the concession agreement between Firestone Liberia Inc. and the Republic of Liberia.

Report by Henry Karmo –  henry.karmo@frontpageafricaonline.com

With the slump in the price in rubber globally, Firestone – one of Liberia’s oldest concession companies – is looking forward to expanding its scope of operations in the country with rubber processing and other forms of agriculture being key considerations.

Plenary of the House of Representatives received the communication from the office of the President Thursday and forwarded same to the Committees are Agriculture, Ways, Means, Finance and Development Planning, Investment and Concession and Contract and Monopolies for deliberation.

The Amendment seeks to amend certain provisions of the 2008 Firestone Concession Agreement.

The Bill titled “Amendment to the Amended and Restated Concession Agreement between the Republic of Liberia and Firestone Liberia Inc.”, when ratified will enable the rubber company to consider and begin the process of engaging into other agricultural productions.

The company has suffered some setbacks since 2013 when the price of rubber on the world market began to decline – forcing the company to redundant several employees.

The amendment as sought by the executive is to enable the company steadily scale up its fallen production.

The President wrote: “Honorable Speaker, in view of the foregoing, I ask your timely ratification of the Bill which supports Government’s goal to rehabilitate and develop the rubber industry of our beloved country, thus providing jobs for the Liberian people.”

The Joint Committee is expected to report to Plenary within two weeks.

The 99-year controversial agreement which was originally signed in 1926, much to the disadvantage of the country and subjecting the country’s finances and labor force to the company – making it very difficult for good labor practices to be discussed.

The deal gave Firestone one million acres of Liberia’s rich tropical forest for 99 years, at the annual rate of $0.06 per acre a year. In addition, any gold, diamonds, or other minerals discovered on the land would belong to Firestone.

Upon taking office in 2006, President Ellen

Johnson Sirleaf acted on her promise to review all contracts and concession agreements signed by previous governments, including the transitional government led by Charles Gyude Bryant. The intent was to ensure that they meet the interest of the country.

Among the agreements renegotiated was that of Firestone.

The 2008 amended and restated agreement, according to Dr. J. Chris Toe, the then Minister of Agriculture and the government’s lead negotiator, was  “an embodiment of Government’s goals to ensure that all existing agreements equitably protect Liberians’ interests and are consistent with principles that attract and sustain foreign investment in Liberia.”

The Amended Agreement also subjected the multi-million dollar company to applicable Liberian laws.

Under the Amended Agreement, which runs through 2041, Firestone committed to continuing its replanting efforts, to complete a rubber wood factory that will directly add a minimum of 500 new jobs, to grow its support to small Liberian rubber farmers and to undertake additional social and educational projects.     

The 2008 Agreement permits an increase in the income tax rate payable by Firestone from 25 percent to 30 percent, establishes new transfer pricing provisions for dry rubber and latex based on international indices, and makes a number of other changes that allow the Government to exercise more flexibility in applying its revenue laws.  

The 2008 agreement, however, did not include the processing of rubber in Liberia which could create jobs for thousands of Liberians and boost the country’s economy.

FrontPageAfrica has not been able to establish to what extent and kind of rubber processing Firestone will be carrying out as per the agreement. It is also not yet clear as to what kind of Agriculture production the company is seeking to get involved with.

Harbel – U.S. rubber giant Firestone, no stranger to controversy during its 90 years in Liberia, is again stoking anger, this time for firing hundreds of workers who now fear for their livelihoods.

By Zoom Dosso (AFP)

Firestone has carried out two waves of sackings over the last few months, aiming at a seven percent cut in the workforce because of what it describes as “ongoing significant and unsustainable losses” due to depressed rubber prices.

Workers at its plantation around an hour from the Liberian capital, aware of strong competition from Asia and the little respite in sight for the rubber market, fear they have few means of fighting back.

“The day we were told, the same day, 189 people had already been laid off,” said Harris Kerkula, president of the Firestone Agricultural Workers Union of Liberia (FAWUL), who told AFP the firm had broken a collective bargaining agreement.

After interventions by the labour ministry, a few dozen jobs were saved, but officials asked the union to accept the redundancies “because the company is going through some difficulties”, Kerkula added.

As Liberia’s biggest private sector employer, with around 8,000 staff, Firestone’s plantations in Harbel have grown into an entire community over the decades, providing a generous package of services the state cannot match.

As a result, redundancy means workers lose their free housing, money for school fees, medical care and subsidized meals in one fell swoop, with just six weeks’ severance pay for many.

“I will be going to Lofa County where I was born because if I stay here my family will die from hunger,” former employee Nyumah Tamba told AFP.

“I have been working for nine years and I am leaving with nothing,” he said, watching his three children play nearby.

Troubled history

Critics say Firestone has always exploited Liberians. Allegations of child labour and “slave-like” working conditions have dogged the company for years, despite more recent improvements.

In 2014, US media outlets ProPublica and PBS Frontline accused Firestone of paying off the regime of former dictator Charles Taylor during the early years of the 1989-2003 civil war to allow its operations to continue.

Children were forced to work alongside their parents to meet impossibly high production targets, others alleged.

The firm denied funding Taylor’s atrocities and asserted that it simply paid taxes as required by any government. Child labour was not permitted, Firestone added.

But despite many twists and turns through some of Liberia’s darkest years, these redundancies are the first since the 1980s, the company claims.

In an email to AFP, the firm defended its decision on the grounds of low natural rubber prices and high overhead costs associated with the company’s concession agreement, along with Liberia’s “uncertain business climate”.

Furthermore, as a direct result of the 14-year civil war, when new rubber trees were not planted, production was low, Firestone said.

Government cash cow

The monotonous work of rubber tapping may not seem immediately attractive to workers, but the Firestone package is rare in a society with catastrophic education standards and an absence of training programmes.

More than 16,000 students are enrolled in 17 Firestone-funded schools, while the Firestone Medical Centre, a 300-bed hospital cares for 5,700 patients a month.

Since 2004, Firestone says it has paid $1 billion (940 million euros) in tax revenue to the government — indispensable in a nation that counts the presence of just a handful of multi-nationals.

Labour Minister Neto Zarzar Lighe was careful not to criticize the firm in an interview with AFP.

“A total of 500 employees were to be redundant and we were able to reduce that to 428 employees. That is significant,” he said.

He defended the firm against accusations they had reneged on a pension agreement with employees, saying that as the scheme was private and non-contributory, different rules applied.

It was not always like this: Firestone and its employees enjoyed the boom years when Detroit’s automobile firms were the powerhouse of the American economy.

But today life is much changed for the workers who have been let go.

Some have turned to plantations abandoned by Firestone, tapping the same trees as contractors and climbing perilously high up the exhausted trunks with the hope of finding some remaining latex.

“(Firestone) give us $180 (169 euros) for a ton of rubber. To get the one ton you have to work for at least two months because we climb the tree before getting to the liquid,” said Zayzay Flomo, 30. “It’s pure slavery”.

Monrovia – Firestone Liberia on Tuesday said it has now laid off a total of 432 staff as part of a targeted 500 redundancies in response to the sharp fall in the price of rubber on the world market.

“Firestone Liberia will continue to implement a number of other measures to cut costs in its operation, including streamlining of the company’s business functions to reduce expenses, improving operational efficiencies, and discontinuing company employee-tapping operations in certain very old and low-producing areas of the concession”-Firestone Liberia statement

 “To date, we have made redundant 432 employees, 189 in August, and 243 in September,” Firestone Liberia, an indirect subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas Inc., said in a statement on Thursday. 

“Continued low natural rubber prices, high overhead costs associated with the company’s concession agreement with the Government of Liberia, low production as a result of the inability to plant during the country’s 14-year civil wars, and the country’s uncertain business climate are the primary reasons for the continuing financial losses”, the company has indicated.

“Firestone Liberia will continue to implement a number of other measures to cut costs in its operation, including streamlining of the company’s business functions to reduce expenses, improving operational efficiencies, and discontinuing company employee-tapping operations in certain very old and low-producing areas of the concession,” it added.

Firestone will have to pay all laid off staff a severance package in conformity with the Labor Laws of Liberia and a collective bargaining agreement between the company and the Firestone Agriculture Workers Union of Liberia (FAWUL).

“Our employees are very important to us and making any change to our operations and employees is an incredibly difficult decision for our leadership team,” said Ed Garcia, president and managing director of Firestone Liberia in July. “We remain committed to the country and people of Liberia, and our main priority is to ensure the long-term sustainability of our operation.”

Since 2004, Firestone Liberia has injected more than US$1 billion into the Liberian economy through government taxes, salaries and pensions, local purchases and rubber purchases from local farmers, and has spent over US$75 million in providing free education, healthcare, housing and security, Firestone said in July.

The plummeting of rubber on the world market has had a negative implication on the Liberian economy being one of Liberia’s export commodities with alongside iron ore. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in this year’s State of Nation Address in January announced the formulation of an economic stimulus package covering a range of fiscal incentives and interventions including deferrals in the concession sector.

The President recommended a number of measures under the package, including  defer payment of Social Development Funds for concessions within mining sector under an agreement that ensures additional incentives for a strategy that prevents closure, protects employment and encourages value addition, and the guaranteeing of US$15 million to commercial banks for loans to finance operations in the rubber sector under a restructuring plan that ensures debt settlement and value addition for farms of not less than 100 acres.

However, these measures have not sufficed, and both the mining and rubber sectors have seen the redundancies of more than a thousand workers across the mining and rubber sectors—450 from ArcelorMittal, 432 from Firestone (and still counting) and an undisclosed number at China Union, which the company denies. 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that the Liberian economy will grow by three percent in 2016. Liberia’s economy was forecast to grow by 7.1 in 2014 percent but plummeted due to the Ebola epidemic.