Africa-Press – Liberia. Grand Kru, Liberia; October 9, 2025 – Grand Kru County Health Officer (CHO), Dr. Learwellie P. Craig II, has condemned and subsequently ordered closure of all Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL’s) health facilities operating within its concession communities in Electoral District One, Grand Kru County.
Speaking to journalists via mobile phone on Wednesday from Grand Kru County, Dr. Craig disclosed that facilities constructed by GVL management do not align with government-prescribed health protocols and standards.
According to him, the shutdown followed an assessment tour by the Liberia Medical and Dental Council (LMDC) in the county. He explained that the closure was coincidental, as he had already been preparing a report to the Minister of Health regarding the condition of the facilities before the LMDC’s visit.
“The sixty-five-year concession agreement signed with the Government of Liberia clearly obligates GVL to construct modern health and school facilities for its employees and dependents, and those structures should meet the same standards as government-run facilities across the country,” Dr. Craig emphasized.
He accused GVL management of violating this obligation, stating that a joint survey conducted by the County Health Team and the Ministry of Health revealed that the company’s health posts and clinics were substandard and failed to meet national infrastructure and health delivery policies.
“Can you imagine what GVL calls a health facility? There is no emergency room, no waiting area, and no registration department. Health workers and patients all sit in one single space,” he lamented.
Dr. Craig further revealed that the facilities lack basic equipment, mattresses, and medical supplies. “GVL was operating in booths as healthcare facilities,” he said, describing the situation as “unacceptable and unsafe.”
He disclosed that the assessment also found one of the clinics operating in a one-bedroom apartment, which he described as a complete breach of national health policy. Consequently, two GVL clinics were immediately shut down by county health officials.
Dr. Craig described the GVL clinics as “substandard” and “unfit to meet government health requirements,” warning that allowing them to continue operations would endanger the health and well-being of employees and residents.
His comments come amid a two-day go-slow action staged by GVL workers, who are protesting delays in the payment of dependents’ school fees, transportation allowances, and poor healthcare conditions, among other grievances.
The protests prompted a high-level mediation mission to the county over the weekend, involving delegates from the Ministries of Health, Education, Internal Affairs, and the National Bureau of Concessions.
According to Dr. Craig, GVL’s clinics operate in non-standard buildings that lack essential medical supplies, equipment, and sanitary materials necessary for quality healthcare delivery. He compared one of the structures to “a phone charging booth,” underscoring the deplorable state of the company’s health facilities.
In June 2025, the Liberia Medical and Dental Council (LMDC) shut down three GVL-operated clinics in Sorroken, Wedabo, and Garraway Estates in Grand Kru County. The closures followed findings that the facilities were operating in violation of national healthcare regulations, including inadequate staffing, nonfunctional laboratories and delivery rooms, and the absence of isolation units all of which severely limited their ability to provide proper medical services.
The GVL Management has yet to officially respond to the government’s latest closure of its health facilities.
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