A member of the House of Representatives has written Plenary requesting a total review of all of Liberia's concession agreements.
Rep. Alex Noah in his communication addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representative, asked members of that body to muster the courage to critically institute a thorough review of all concession agreements.
He said the requested review is intended to purposely unveil the fundamental flaws that continue to deprive the country and its citizens from receiving maximum benefits of the exploited vast natural resources.
According to the Sinoe County District Three lawmaker, over the years, Liberia as a country, has produced some of the best iron ores, gold and many other precious metals and stones but only to the good of partners to the country.
He said it is a fundamental challenge of governance system, meaning the way leaders used to do business has to be reviewed for recalibrating.
"We live at a time that the minerals of the country are being exploited at maximum level, even including concessions in the agro sector where a boom is being experienced, yet our people are faced with the lack of benefits from these concessions," Rep. Noah told full Plenary.
He convinced members of the House stating, "We are faced with an irony; having a country rich in natural resources but yet our people live in abject poverty."
The Sinoe County Representative called for the need to look into how they (leaders) are managing the resources of the country so that the issues of poverty, education, health and other basic needs of Liberians can be adequately addressed.
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"This proposal may seem weighty, but on a broader note, it is our shared responsibility to change the course of action for the betterment of our people and the nation, to shift the paradigm to enable a new approach to finding solution to the problems confronting our people in the sectors mentioned herein," he said.
Following the reading of the communication, by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, it was opened for discussion and majority of the lawmakers spoke in favor of the proposed review request from Rep. Noah.
They cited the recent violent protest at Bea Mountain and other civil disobediences caused by unattended to concession agreements terms and conditions.
The debate ranges on making the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Cllr. J. Fonati Kofa agreed with the Sinoe County Lawmaker.
The Speaker is set to constitute a committee that will take the space of six months to have a complete review of all of Liberia's concession agreements.
