McGill defends agreement with Chinese

The Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Nathaniel McGill says the Eton Loan Agreement with the Chinese is one of the best loan agreements that the country has ever signed despite public criticism against the agreement.

Minister McGill calls on the opposition community to give chance to the Weah-led administration to perform, noting that it’s too early for criticism.He says recent condemnation by Bomi County Senator Sando Johnson about the Eton Loan agreement is only intended to create dark image on the deal, which is intended to provide road network that previous administrations over 170 years failed to achieve.

Speaking to this paper Sunday, May 20, at his residence in Congo Town, outside Monrovia, Minister McGill maintains the loan is one of the best financial agreements the country ever signed, adding that the Weah’s administration will not relent in engaging loan agreement with any financial institution globally.

“This is one of the best loan agreements the country ever had, the criticism by some people including Senator Johnson is unnecessary. We took the loan to build roads for our people. We cannot allow this country remain on grounds that we don’t want loan,” argues.

According to him, there is no collateral attached as being speculated in some quarters, but the only attachment is the Central Bank of Liberia is guarantor that the loan will be repaid and the Liberian Legislature is to ratify the deal.

Another argument being raised by Senator Johnson is that road construction has already been awarded to a contractor, but McGill explains the agreement has JVC or Consortium Comprising, MAEIl Liberia Construction Co., Ltd, a Chinese engineering, procurement and construction company and subcontractor(s) comprising Liberian-owned and operated construction and engineering company (ies) that have all been named as contractors to be vetted and confirmed by the Ministry of Public Works.

Senator Johnson also notes that he and other members of the Senate are concerned that the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Government of Liberia and Eton Financial Private Limited was not signed by the Minister of Justice, who is the chief legal advisor to the President.

“Firstly, if you look at the agreement, I think the Minister of Justice did not sign it, the Ministry of Justice is the legal person in this country, why didn’t he sign it? We have to look at all this thing and ask what’s going on”, Senator Johnson points out.

By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor-Editing by Jonathan Browne