In a stunning turn of events, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. has instructed the Inter-Ministerial Concessions Committee (IMCC) to return to the negotiating table with ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML), citing serious concerns over multiple provisions in the controversial Third Amendment to the company's Mineral Development Agreement (MDA). The move comes amid growing public outrage and scrutiny over the leaked agreement's opaque signing process and its implications for Liberia's economic sovereignty.
According to sources inside the Executive Mansion, the President is "deeply disturbed" by key aspects of the leaked agreement, particularly the Railway System Operating Principles (RSOP) -- a sweeping framework drafted by AML that effectively locks in the company's control over the Yekepa-Buchanan rail corridor for decades to come. The RSOP, insiders say, was written well ahead of the National Rail Authority becoming fully operational, and it leaves little to no room for government oversight. The IMCC is to report back to the President within a week.
Even more troubling, AML's leaked agreement makes it explicit that no future leadership of the Rail Authority, nor any independent rail operator later selected by the government, can alter or amend the RSOP without AML's consent, even after 2030 when an Independent Operator is expected to assume control of the rail on behalf of the Government.
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The clause grants the company perpetual influence over Liberia's most strategic infrastructure asset, directly contradicting President Boakai's stated policy of establishing an independently operated, multi-user rail system that supports multiple mining and non-mining users and investors. "The RSOP is the Bible of railway management and should not be written by one user" says an industry professional.
Perhaps the most contentious provision in the leaked document is what legal experts describe as a "Supremacy Clause" -- language that places the agreement above Liberian laws and regulations. Under this clause, if any future law or government regulation conflicts with AML's contractual rights, the agreement's provisions would prevail. Such language, critics argue, strips the government of its sovereign power to regulate its own infrastructure and mining sectors in the public interest.
The agreement also employs several other legal devices designed to entrench AML's monopoly over the rail and port infrastructure for another 25 to 50 years, at the expense of other potential users -- including new entrants like Ivanhoe Atlantic, an American company backed by mining industry magnate Robert Friedland, which recently signed a rail access framework agreement with the Liberian government to transport iron ore through Liberia from Guinea.
Sources within the Executive Mansion say President Boakai's displeasure was visibly evident after he was taken through the finer details of the document, which had been rushed to his desk by the IMCC under what several insiders from the Government described as "immense pressure" from the Ministry of State, including the Office of the Legal Advisor to the President.
The revelation that Justice Minister Oswald Tweh and Finance Minister Augustine Ngafuan did not personally sign the agreement was previously reported by the Observer -- instead sending proxies marked 'PP' (per pro) to sign on their behalf -- only further deepens the public's mistrust of the process. The former Minister of Mines and Energy, Wilmot Paye, who reportedly refused to sign over his outright objection to various clauses, was replaced, and within days, the Deputy Minister for Administration, Eudora Blay Pritchard, was ordered to sign as Acting Minister despite her not having participated in any part of the negotiations, and clearly having no real knowledge of the Agreement herself, according to persons familiar with internal deliberations.
Several lawmakers have already vowed to challenge the agreement if it is submitted to the Legislature with so many unacceptable provisions, as have been leaked, arguing that it violates both the Public Procurement and Concessions Act and Liberia's broader commitment to open, competitive concession processes, and usurps Legislative authority.
This is the second time in less than five years that the Third Amendment to AML's MDA is being negotiated. In September 2022, under then-President George Manneh Weah, the Legislature returned the agreement to the Executive after the House of Representatives identified numerous flaws.
Among the issues raised at that time were AML's attempt to retain full operational control of the Yekepa-Buchanan rail, the lack of independent oversight of ore exports, and the company's failure to clearly define its fiscal obligations to the government. Lawmakers also complained that the agreement was inconsistent with Liberia's Minerals and Mining Law and ignored the government's emerging plan for a multi-user rail system that would serve multiple mining companies, not just one.
Faced with these objections, President Weah was forced to return the amendment to the IMCC for renegotiation -- a process that stalled amid changes in government and increasing tensions between AML and other concessionaires seeking access to the corridor.
Now, President Boakai has done the same -- sending the agreement back to the IMCC and in his case, before even forwarding it to the Legislature with explicit instructions to renegotiate provisions that compromise Liberia's sovereignty, transparency, and competitiveness.
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Observers say Boakai's move marks a crucial test of his leadership and of his ARREST Agenda, which pledges to reform governance and restore credibility to Liberia's institutions.
"It's clear the President recognizes that this deal, as written, would undermine everything he stands for," said one senior official. "He has to choose between a quick US$200 million payday -- which will vanish in months -- or a future where Liberia actually controls its infrastructure and earns billions in long-term revenue."
The stakes could not be higher. The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee recently praised Liberia for making "strong progress toward a transparent, multi-user rail system under a truly independent operator framework," calling it "an indicator of good governance."
For President Boakai, the decision to send the AML deal back to the IMCC is more than an administrative correction. It is a reassertion of national sovereignty -- and a clear signal that under his watch, Liberia will not be bullied or bribed into surrendering control of its future.
As one close observer put it, "This is not just about iron ore. It's about integrity, leadership, and whether Liberia finally learns from its past mistakes of allowing this one company to control a very strategic rail and port infrastructure asset."
