Africa-Press – Liberia. Nimba County Senator Nya D. Twayen Jr. has come under serious criticism from Citizens of the ArcelorMittal’s (AML) affected communities in Nimba County he concession areas have asked Nimba County.
Mr. Armstrong Gobac Selekpoh, has been a strong critic of AML and has led more than 20 protest against the company’s operations in the County. Currently Gobac sees the operation of the company from another anger.
He believes, all the things he protested for in the past are being addressed by the company and at this point, it is only fair that the company remain and live up to its agreement with the government and the people of Liberia and provide the needed jobs and asked the lawmakers to make the necessary inputs when the amended agreement reaches them for ratification.
The Senator described AML’s of persistent failure to declare profits is not a matter of poor business performance but rather a calculated use of transfer pricing, a method commonly employed by multinational corporations to shift profits out of the host country and into tax havens.
“Transfer pricing is a technique used by multinationals to shift profits… It involves a multinational selling itself goods and services at an artificially high price,” the senator explained.
By not declaring profits, Senator Twayen argues, AML has avoided paying dividends to the Liberian government and the people of Nimba, in clear violation of what he suggests is both the letter and spirit of the mineral development agreement.
In a rebuttal statement, he warns their Senator to stop politicizing the amended Mineral Development agreement which seeks to create more jobs and benefits for Citizens of the county and Liberians.
Mr. Armstrong Gobac-Selekpoh who represents the affected communities said, in an interview with FrontPageAfrica that the agreement reviewed received from the government itself shows that largely, AML has complied with all its material MDA commitments and obligations.
According to him, between 2006 and April 2024, AML went beyond its MDA commitments and obligations to invest $47 million in socioeconomic growth and development of communities in its operational areas and elsewhere in Liberia.
According to him, the Company has done; Railroad rehabilitation, Port rehabilitation, Reporting and Documentation, Employment quotas, Secondment of Government staff and Vocational Training Center amongst many other.
He further accused the Nimba Senator of attempting to disrupt ongoing negotiation between the government and AML that will benefit the people of Nimba County and that in less than one year, the Senator has become completely unpopular and is now using ArcelorMittal as a rallying point to regain favor from the people.
Gobac Said: “He sees the current superintendent of Nimba as a threat to his Senate seat and for the fact that the Superintendent has been mobilizing the people of Nimba to make their views included in the new MDA, and Nya is so unsettled and he is not attacking the company.
“In July 2013, Nya defended the Government’s decision to seize the Nimba County Social Development fund to compensate for the destruction caused by Citizens This is when Nya was a NASSCORP milking free money. Nya doesn’t care about the nearly US$ 10k jobs created by AML now but he is bent on pushing the company out of Liberia by his shameful comments yesterday.”
What has AML done
Gobac explains that AML recently administered LAB test to about one thousand youths from the fenceline communities and from the results, some youths will benefit from opportunities to attend Vocational Training Centers, while about eighty plus are being processed for the ADT, with one hundred fifty being recruited directly for various jobs that were difficult to get before.
He also claimed that AML has supported fifty students at the Nimba County University annually. The AML in recent months have sent employees for treatment abroad in India and other countries because such services cannot be found here. Over the past one year, over 10 employees have benefited.
ArcelorMittal’s world-class concentrator
The state-of-the-art concentrator—one of the largest iron ore beneficiation plants in Africa—is the centerpiece of ArcelorMittal’s US$1.8 billion Phase II expansion project. The project is expected to boost the company’s annual iron ore production in Liberia from 5 million tonnes to 20 million tonnes, while significantly enhancing product quality to higher-grade, higher-value iron ore, according to the company.
Coming shortly after the company marked 20 years of mining operations in Liberia, the commissioning of the concentrator brings ArcelorMittal’s total investment in the country to approximately US$3 billion.
In addition to the concentrator, the expansion project includes critical infrastructure upgrades: the railway from Tokadeh to Buchanan is being modernized, a new pier has been added at the Buchanan Port, and new material-handling systems have been installed. The project has employed 5,000 contractors and maintains a permanent Liberian workforce of over 2,000.
Since entering Liberia in 2005 through a 25-year Mineral Development Agreement, ArcelorMittal has played a central role in reviving the country’s iron ore industry. Mining operations began in 2011, and the first iron ore shipment was exported via the Buchanan Port in 2012.
In 2022, the company reactivated its Phase II expansion and now, with the commissioning of the concentrator, stands at a critical turning point. ArcelorMittal is exploring further expansion to increase capacity to 30 million tonnes annually, with feasibility studies underway for producing Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) quality concentrate.
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