Africa-Press – Liberia. Negotiations between the Government of Liberia and ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML) have hit a serious snag, after key ministers rejected the company’s attempt to include a controversial Rail System Operating Principles (RSOP) document inside its Mineral Development Agreement (MDA). The President had earlier returned the purportedly signed 3rd Amendment to the company’s MDA for renegotiation, because it contained clauses that undermined the country’s laws and could potentially entrench the company’s monopoly over key infrastructure for another fifty years.
Sources tell the Daily Observer this week that President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has flatly rejected almost everything in the proposed RSOP and sent it back for renegotiation. The document, which outlines how the Yekepa–Buchanan rail line would be managed, has become one of the biggest sticking points in talks that could reshape Liberia’s mining and transport future.
The RSOP sets the rules for how trains would operate on the rail line that connects Nimba to the Port of Buchanan. It covers everything from access fees to scheduling and safety. AML wants the RSOP to be attached directly to its MDA, which would make it part of the ratified contract once approved by the Legislature.
But several government officials say that would be a major mistake. Once inside the MDA, the RSOP could not be changed without legislative approval — even if future governments find problems with it. “Putting it in the MDA ties the government’s hands,” said one senior source. “It locks up our national rail policy inside one company’s concession.”
One official even put it bluntly: “ArcelorMittal has no business drafting the RSOP under this new multiuser rail framework. That is now the job of the newly established National Rail Authority.”
This matter-of-fact statement was confirmed — nearly verbatim — by an inside source who says the President’s economic team — including the Ministers of Justice, Finance, and Transport — are reportedly insisting that the RSOP be removed from ArcelorMittal Liberia’s MDA and handled separately by the National Rail Authority (NRA), which was created to regulate the country’s rail system under a multi-user framework.
Justice Minister’s Warning
Justice Minister Cllr. Oswald Tweh, who also sits on the Inter-Ministerial Concessions Committee (IMCC), has already distanced himself from the disputed deal. In remarks to the Daily Observer earlier this month, he revealed that he did not personally sign the Third Amendment to AML’s MDA — the same document that President Boakai has now rejected.
He told the Observer that he was keeping a closer eye on the RSOP, which he wanted “to personally review to ensure we are not contradicting ourselves and that we do the right thing for the country.”
His comments confirm what several insiders have told the Observer: that the President’s directive to renegotiate is aimed at ensuring no single concessionaire controls Liberia’s most strategic transport corridor.
Legislative Clock Running Out
The disagreement also raises doubts about whether the AML agreement can reach the Legislature before it adjourns for its annual break on December 11 — less than two weeks away. Lawmakers say the timeframe is too tight to properly review such a complex deal, especially when other major agreements, including those with Ivanhoe Atlantic, TotalEnergies, and Oranto Petroleum, are already under review alongside the National Budget.
“There’s no way this can be rushed,” one lawmaker told the Observer. “We intend to scrutinize every line of that AML agreement.”
A Faulty Deal
Earlier reports from the Observer revealed that the leaked draft RSOP contained multiple flaws — including clauses that appeared to give AML authority over operational standards, tariffs, and third-party access, in clear conflict with the multi-user rail policy outlined in Executive Order 136.
Adding to the confusion, the AML agreement was signed by proxies on October 31 with a clause stating that the RSOP would be completed within seven days. Legal analysts now question whether the agreement remains valid, given that the RSOP it depends on has been rejected.
“If the RSOP is void, then the agreement itself may not stand,” said one legal expert. “It’s like building a house on a foundation that doesn’t exist.”
The Road Ahead
With tensions high and the legislative recess approaching, sources now believe the AML agreement will likely be deferred to January, when lawmakers reconvene. In the meantime, the President has reportedly instructed all ministries to remove or revise any section of the agreement that contradicts his administration’s commitment to a multi-user, independent rail operator framework.
It is not lost on government stakeholders that, nearly a decade ahead of the expiry of AML’s current MDA, the company has aggressively sought to get an early signing of its 3rd Amendment to their MDA. The company’s rather obtrusive conduct has raised many red flags across government, the investment community and the general public, raising questions about AML’s agenda.
“Now, knowing how much we know, the message is clear,” said a source at the Ministry of Finance. “Liberia’s rail belongs to Liberia — not to any single company.”
Whether the company agrees to strip out the controversial RSOP or risk losing its new amendment altogether will determine not just the future of one mining concession, but the direction of Liberia’s entire rail system for decades to come.
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