The Inquirer (Monrovia)
Patrick K. Wrokpoh & Webster Cassell
22 November 2007
The Liberia Agriculture Company (LAC), has attributed the death of its Plantation Manager, Bruno Michiel, to the failure of the Liberian government to provide the company with what it called, "maximum-security protection," despite persistently appeals from the company's management to the government for it to do so over the last few years.
In what can be considered as its first official public statement since the death of Mr. Michiel over the weekend, the LAC management said there is a need for the government to make its presence felt on the ground so that residents can feel secured and that there is a government that would protect them.
The company's General Manager, George Quarteng Mensah, who spoke yesterday at the Samuel Stryker Funeral Home in Sinkor on behalf of the company during a brief funeral service held over the remains of the late Michiel before the deceased body was flown home, he said the death of Mr. Michiels would have been prevented if the Liberian government had acted swiftly in response to the many concerns for security protection put forward to the government by the company.
Mr. Mensah, wondered what he would tell the deceased's father and family members about their son's death when he meets them.
Directly facing the audience which included the Minister of Justice,Philip Banks, the County Senior Senator among others, Mr. Mensah urged the government to reverse its action on the issue of security stressing that what the company will like to see then was concrete actions regarding security that would deal with the kind of incidents that occurred over the weekend at the plantation.
The LAC General Manager, who claimed to have worked with the deceased for the past five years, described him as someone who was very industrious and whose work boost the capacity of the company.
He said when the deceased arrived at the company, he improved the 28,000 acres he met with the company by setting in a plan that resulted to the planting of additional 8,000 rubber trees.
Mr. Mensah added that under such plan initiated by the deceased, many Liberians got employed and were able to care for at least between five to six other persons, and still wondered why such a man who has worked to help Liberians be killed in the way and manner he was murdered.
For his part, Justice Minister, Cllr. Philip Banks who officially paid tribute on behalf of the Liberian government vowed that the death of the deceased would not go in vain. He assured that the perpetrators would be prosecuted to the letter by the government.
Speaking also, Grand Bass County Senior Senator, Gbezongar Findley frowned at the murder of the deceased and said all those who want to see violence in the county have him and the people of the county to contend with. He vowed to cooperate with the GOL in dealing with anyone who will want to see violence perpetrated in the county.
Earlier, Rev Father Joseph Baiodoo of the Star of the Sea Parish Catholic Church in West Point described the death of the deceased as shameful to the people of Grand Bassa County and Liberians as a whole. He stressed the need for the on-going investigation to go ahead fairly so that it would serve, as a deterrent for would be individuals who may want to engage in similar act.
During the occasion, tributes were paid by the Agriculture and Justice Ministries, the Rubber Planter Association of Liberia, employees of LAC, Firestone Liberia among others.
Over the weekend, Mr. Michiels, who is the Plantation Manager of LAC was shot dead when he led a team from the company on an assessment mission to an area said to be covered for the company's expansion exercise in keeping with the November 15, 2007 agreement signed between the company and the Liberian government.
Mr. Michiels , a Belgian expatriate working with the company was reportedly killed as a result of a disagreement that ensued between the company and some local residents over the planned expansion of the company. His body was expected to be flown home yesterday but reports gathered by this paper suggest that an SN Brussels flight that was expected to take the body of the deceased abruptly cancelled its flight to Liberia for some undisclosed reason. The body was later re-deposited at the Samuel Stryker Funeral Home. The next SN Brussels flight is scheduled for tomorrow.
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