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Liberia: Due Diligence On Delta Continues
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The Inquirer (Monrovia)
15 April 2008
Posted to the web 15 April 2008
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says she cannot question the decision of the inter-ministerial committee, which selected the Delta Mining Company as the first winner over the Western Cluster bid.
The President, however said that under the law, the process that calls for due diligence of firms after bid evaluation is now underway through a private firm with funding from USAID.
In a nation wide address to the nation yesterday, President Sirleaf said in accordance with the Public Procurement and Concessions Law of the country, the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy called for bids for the exploration of the Western Cluster Iron Ore mines found in Bomi and Gbarpolu Counties.
She said in the process, six firms including Delta Mining responded by submitting their bids.
According President Sirleaf, the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy conformed to the requirements of the PPCC Act, by constituting an Inter-Ministerial team comprising of technicians from the Ministries of Lands and Mines, Finance, Justice, Labor, Planning & Economic Affairs, as well as the Central Bank and the National Investment Commission to review the bids following which time they selected Delta Mining as the winner, something, which she noted was reported to the National Legislature in her annual message delivered in January.
"Since the Inter-ministerial team comprised all technicians with the requisite qualifications and since their review process conformed to the law, I did not see reason to question their judgment," President Sirleaf said.
She stressed that the process under the law which calls for due diligence of firms after bid evaluation is now underway through a private firm with USAID funding, stressing that at the same time and based on this experience relating to the bidding process, the government is looking at a change in the Public Procurement Concession Commission (PPCC) Act and the process to require due diligence as a part of the bidding process, prior to evaluation.
According to the Liberian leader, a team of senior international lawyers who assisted the government in the renegotiation process of concession agreements is assisting the government to get this process right.
Since, Delta Mining was announced as the winner of the bid, some have criticized the selection process leading to the company's selection. Some media groups based in South Africa, where Delta Mining is based has also questioned the company's selection over some of its competitors like Indian steel giant TATA Steel.
In the wake of these criticisms, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf informed the nation in her address yesterday that a process of "due diligence" was taking place to determine some facts associated with the company's operation.
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But in spite of all these criticisms, a delegation from Delta Mining, which concluded a visit to Liberia last month justified the company's ability to mine in the Western Cluster.
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