November 24, 2024
The Minister of Mines and Energy, Wilmot Paye, urges Mining cooperatives across Liberia to end their partnerships with foreigners who do not mean well for the country’s development as demonstrated by their involvement in illicit and illegal mining practices and procedures.
During an acquaintance interaction with about 19 mining cooperatives in Monrovia, Mines and Energy Minister, Wilmot Paye, stressed that colluding with such wrong business people undermines national development and impedes the economic empowerment of Liberians, the Minister says, who owns the Country’s mineral resources.
Minister Paye told the Artisanal and Small-scale Miners, acts of aiding and abetting wrongful practices in Class ‘B’ and ‘C’ mining license categories do not happen in isolation, stating that the outsiders are encouraged by local townspeople who provide access and protection for the strangers in exchange of goodwill and other opportunities from them [foreigners and aliens].
He further said, that Liberians ignore the laws and illegally place their mineral resources in the hands of those outsiders yet, still expect good outcomes and benefits when, in essence, they are robbing themselves and the country in general
Speaking to righting the wrongs, the Mines and Energy Minister informed the mining cooperatives that the Ministry had taken some practical steps including re-profiling every license holder.
Minister Paye divulged that all members of cooperatives present at the November 21, 2024 meeting will be properly profiled by cross-checking the status of their respective mining licenses, assuring that such a move will be extended to every other small-scale miner.
Minister Paye expressed his administration’s openness and willingness to work collaboratively with the mining cooperatives to ensure a vibrant and sustainable mining sector.
Premiering on Minister Wilmot Paye’s reform agenda at the Ministry of Mines and Energy is to make services of the ministry accessible to miners regardless of mining district, region, or county.
To achieve this ambitious plan, the Minister told the cooperatives that his team is working tirelessly to set up county offices to handle tasks such as license renewal, grievance redress, or dispute resolution, among others.
He disclosed that to put words to action, the Ministry will provide mobility for its county staff to include motorbikes, vehicles and other field and office equipment to make the offices functional.
“No foreigner or alien who knows no one in Liberia will transport themselves here, enter Monrovia, and get on a car and just settle into our towns and villages all by themselves without knowing any of our people,” Minister Paye intoned.
Minister Paye used the acquaintance gathering to assure the cooperatives of President Joseph Nuyma Boakai’s commitment to providing a conducive environment for them to do their mining businesses and benefit from the minerals God has blessed their country with.
Giving the Ministry of Mines and Energy firsthand accounts of their experiences in the artisanal and small-scale mining sub-sector, the cooperative members made a passionate plea for the government of Liberia to grant them the right to use earth-moving equipment such as excavators to enhance their mining operations.
Providing justifications, they informed the Ministry that illegal activities including the use of contraband materials are causing difficulty for local daily hire or mine workers to commit to working on their mining claims as was done over the years.
The Miners further disclosed that mainly in the Sapo National Park located in Sinoe County; protected under the Mining Law prohibiting any form of mining activities, illicit and illegal Miners are violating the law on a daily basis by mining minerals in the Park.
They decried huge incentives illegal Miners use to induce daily hire staff to turn down job offers with the cooperatives, imposing economic hardship on them as they rely mainly on small-scale mining for their livelihood.
Expounding more on drugs and substance abuse, the cooperatives are alarmed that such bad habits have rendered many of the young people on whom they depend for their mining work incapacitated to use the legal shovel or alluvial mining procedure to get their jobs done.
Hence, they want the government through the Mines and Energy Ministry put in place a permit system that allows for the use of yellow machines by cooperatives.
The cooperatives lamented that due to the barrage of difficulties they face daily, foreigners and aliens have taken over mining activities in their communities using earthmoving equipment and refusing to live up to agreements entered into with local government authorities.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy assured the cooperatives that having listened to their concerns and complaints, steps necessary to fix the system to work more effectively in the interest of Liberian Small-scale Miners will be put in place.
Minister Wilmot Paye commended the Cooperative Development Agency for the excellent service to the country by maintaining its presence with the mining cooperatives across the country through training programs and other capacity strengthening to give them a space in which to operate in the mining sector of their country.
The acquaintance meet-and-greet program was attended by Deputy and Assistant Ministers of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, representatives from the German non-governmental organization – GIZ, and the Cooperative Development Agency (CDA).
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