By Ethel A Tweh
Oil palm company Golden Veroleum Liberia says it experienced losses totaling about $20 million in 2023 due to bad roads in the southeast of Liberia.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, 10th January in Monrovia, Vice President for Strategy and Stakeholders, Elvis G. Morris, said rehabilitation work on 272 kilometers of road in the region has been ongoing in the past three years.
He said the project has been fully funded by the Government of Liberia through taxes paid by GVL, and the company has also completed construction works on 13-kilometer stretch of road that links Plouh community to seaside in Butaw District, Sinoe County.
He said besides GVL, several mining and logging companies operate in Sinoe and Grand Kru counties, and the road connecting both counties has been a very strategic access especially, during rainy season.
“We plead with the Government of Liberia to give higher attention to the Southeast highway, as it will grow local economies automatically.
Mr. Morris notes that Golden Veroleum Educational Support program benefits employees’ dependents and children from surrounding communities, adding that the program started since 2019 and is still ongoing,
He reveals that the company has spent more than US$200,000 to rehabilitate and reconstruct schools, provide teaching and learning materials, and pay stipends to Government of Liberia volunteer teachers within its operational areas.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]
“We have completed phases 1, 2&3 and have embarked on Phase IV for 2023/2024 academic year. Total of 56 schools are currently benefiting from the program both in Sinoe and Grand Kru counties”, he notes.
According to him, GVL is also providing free health care delivery to its employees and their dependents, including surrounding communities with health facilities built in its concession sites, providing professional nurses and drugs.
“Annually, our clinics attend to more than 31, 000 patients including employees, dependents, contractors and community dwellers which cost over US$165,000. GVL is also paying the stipend of 10 staff at Unification Clinic in Tarjuwon.”
He says since the inception of operations, GVL has been paying US$100,000 for deserving Liberian students studying Agriculture and Science related courses such as Engineering, among others in various universities across the country.
He says more than 400 students have benefited from GVL scholarship program and most of them are currently in its employ, serving as supervisors, assisting managers and managers.
Mr. Morris discloses that GVL deposits into community development accounts US$5.00 per hectare of land as required by the concession agreement.
GVL operation highly depends on fuel supply, but poor inland transportation disrupts fuel supply leading to higher logistics cost and rendering the company unable to operate at efficient capacity due to high fixed overhead cost during rainy season, coupled with poor infrastructure at Greenville and Harper ports. Editing by Jonathan Browne
