House summons MOA, others
The House of Representatives has summoned the Ministry of Agriculture and focus Ministries on concession to appear next Thursday to answer questions on concession awarded to Mittal Steel for the mining of Iron Ore in previously controlled Liberia American Mining Company facilities as the former has not allegedly lived up to the terms and conditions as provided for.
Speaking Tuesday in session, Grand Bassa County district#4 Representative J. Byron Brown, said Mittal Steel instead of reconstructing the LAMCO facilities as provided for by the concession agreement, abandoned same and, instead, built prefabricated houses in Grand Bassa and Nimba counties, which suggest no plans for the improvement of the concession area and the lives of employees.
He argues that the hospital facility inherited by the concession has not been renovated nor equipped to provide the needed services, noting that instead of renovating the LAMCO hospital for the purpose of meeting the medical needs of all staff as provided for in the concession, the Mittal Steel Management abandoned the entire medical facility and renovated two of the dwelling units in Loop Six to attend to the medical needs of only expatriates.
Brown continues that instead of developing and employing its own security in compliance with the concession, the company hired the services of private security firm to man its facilities, pointing out that technically by this action, those hired as security will have no severance benefit.
By Bridgett Milton-Editing by Jonathan Browne
