A major controversy broke out within the Liberian National Investment Commission (NIC) after Chairman Jeff B. Bribo reportedly acted outside his authority in a decision that appears to have violated President Liberian N. Boachey’s enforcement instructions regarding the management of key railway infrastructure in the future.
Several government sources confirmed with daily observers that Bribo’s actions taken without the full knowledge or consent of the key Cabinet Ministers have led to prompt corrective action from the executive residence.
At the heart of the controversy is a report sent by Blibo to ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML) and Ivanhoe Atlantic, informing businesses that the Ministerial Concessions Committee (IMCC) has “unanimously decided” to grant AML’s ongoing operational management to Yekepa-Buchanan Railway for 25 years. This issue of moving to an independent operator model of Liberian rails lies at the forefront of continued negotiations between GOL and the two mining companies.
The communication is said to have dismayed policymakers, including State Department officials, given that President Bocay has repeatedly declared at the end of the current Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) in 2030, which has led to a shift to an independent operator model.
There are also reports that a letter from Bribo inside the US embassy distributed public officials last week that the US State Department had made public the position of a multi-user rail system under an independent operator overseen by the National Railroad Authority.
The president, who positioned the independence of the railway as the cornerstone of Liberia’s economic future, reportedly had not been informed or consulted about Bribo’s actions in advance. A trusted source in the hallways of the Executive Mansion, President Boaches President Bribo ordered that President Bribo retract the letter sent to the company immediately, and on Tuesday, May 6th he himself will be the main side of the NIC Chairman.
Through staff within the NIC, observers reviewed Bribo’s letters and official minutes of the April 30 meeting, when the so-called decision was made, reflecting those who actually attended the meeting. Significantly, the meeting was not attended by statutory ministers of the IMCC, including the Minister of Mines and Energy, Minister of Justice and Minister of Finance.
Furthermore, another statutory IMCC member, the Ministry of Labor, did not exist or was not in favor of it. However, Bribo spoke to the Executive Mansion and externally informed that IMCC had unanimously made the consequential decision.
In fact, the Minister of Finance Augustine Ngahuan was abroad at the time attending the World Bank’s Spring Conference and other official involvement. Treasury sources also confirmed that he was completely unaware of such a decision being made or that he had not seen the letter before being sent to the company.
Additionally, the Minister of Justice, who was abroad, informed the observers when he contacted him to look into his decision and his knowledge, and to look into it.
The absence of these key ministers, represented only by proxies and technical staff, raises fundamental questions regarding the legitimacy of the alleged decision, particularly if the minister is not aware of it or gives specific instructions on the matter. An interview conducted by observers with senior government officials, including Mines and Energy Minister Willmot Pay, confirmed that they did not attend the April 30 meeting or delegate authority to junior staff to make such consequential policy decisions.
According to sources and attendees reflected in the minutes of meetings from the NIC seen by observers, Chairman Bribo unilaterally relied primarily on the presence of lawmakers and lower-level representatives to assert a “unanimous decision,” and without the knowledge of the president, he affirmed that he would declare to businesses the mandatory and mandatory act of telling Liberia’s mandatory, mandatory, mandatory obligations. We will engage in deliberation of final concessions of this scale. “Bribo literally lied to the President based on the minutes of the meeting where the unanimous decision was made by the IMCC,” said a senior senior mansion advisor with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity due to sensitivity to the matter.
The president’s order said the transition of Liberian railway infrastructure to independently managed multi-user under the surveillance of the newly created National Railways Bureau was codified through Executive Order No. 136 earlier this year. The policy change is a strategic move aimed at ensuring open, untransparent, non-discriminatory access to the rail system for all eligible mining companies, including Ivanhoe Atlantic, a US-backed company poised to invest heavily in Liberia’s infrastructure development through the Liviarydo Corridor Project.
The US’s strong support for President Boaches’ desire for multi-user systems with independent operators is consistent with the US current policy on major rail infrastructure projects such as the Lobito Corridor, which connects Angola, the DRC and Zambia and benefits from billions of US investment. Biden and the Trump administration now support the project.
The United States reportedly looks at the corridor between Liberia and Guinea.
It is also important that the US government has publicly expressed its support for Liberia’s multi-user rail policy, viewing it as important for fair competition and regional economic development, particularly at a time when the US is working to gain advantage over China for access to rare earth minerals and other resources.
Against this background, misunderstandings or intentional overreach by the NIC chair raised concerns not only among Liberian executive leadership, but also among Liberian development partners. It is understood that the President’s future IMCC emergency meeting will fully clarify the government’s consistent position and reaffirm Liberia’s commitment to open infrastructure access and investor trust.
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Government insiders emphasized to observers that the IMCC is a recommended body for the president’s approval before informing a third party. “The role of the NIC and IMCC is to negotiate and recommend,” explained one advisor. “Only the president can approve or change national concessions.”
For now, sources close to the situation indicate that corrective actions are ongoing to reassure all concessions and stakeholders that the Liberian government is firmly committed to the principles of good governance, transparency and fair play outlined in Executive Order No. 136.
Following the President’s emergency IMCC meeting, new communication is expected to be sent to all parties reaffirming the government’s multi-user policy and clarifying the processes of Liberia’s future railway management system.
The railway corridor connecting Yekepa to Buchanan Port is one of Liberia’s most important national assets. How it will be managed over the next few years will be largely shaped among the Liberian mining sector, regional trade ambitions, and global investors.
At the moment, according to a condominium official, “President Boaches’ rapid intervention that Liberia intends to maintain the course is intended to build a more comprehensive, transparent, and investment-friendly railway infrastructure for the future.”
