The Senator of Grand Cape Mount County, Simeon Taylor, has said contracts need to be respected once a country sings on to it.
Senator Taylor said if there are issues with any contract, the best thing to do is to either review or renegotiate and put in various clauses that you as a government want to be inserted.
He made statement last week on a local radio station when called to give his opinion on the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) and Telecomm International Alliance (TIA) concession agreement.
The LTA is calling for the cancellation of the concession agreement reached with it and TIA to monitor all incoming and outgoing calls in the country due to what they called irregularities.
Senator Taylor, who is part of the special review committee of the both Houses that investigated the contract, said the position of the committee was to renegotiate.
Senator Taylor’s statement juxtaposed with Vice President Jeremiah K. Koung’s statement when he appeared on state radio on Monday, opposing to cancellation of contracts which any government would enter into.
He said, if there are issues with any agreement, the best thing to do is to sit and do amendments or renegotiate rather than outright cancellation.
Several companies with which government signed agreements are under the radar due to what officials considered “irregularities” in those agreements.
For instance, the government of Liberia last year issued an Executive Order, ordering the suspension of the-Telecommunication International Alliance-TIA/LTA deal. The calls sparked debate and provoked legality concerns.
Senator Taylor added that the best thing any nation can do is to revisit the contract and do the needful required by law
There are reports that the government is considering hiring another company to take over the same role TIA supposed to play as per its contract.
However, during his first live radio appearance Monday, VP Koung said, the UP-government respects law and concession agreements. He said, it will send a bad signal to the outside world if Liberia cancels contracts with companies rather than carrying out amendments.
He added, he would not like to see people talking about Liberia as a country that does not respect concession agreements. He said, today the UP government may sign agreements with some companies and if a different government comes in the future and cancels it, will not be good.
One of several agreements which have been a point of discussions in recent times is with the Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA) and Telecommunications Alliance (TIA). TIA signed 25 years concession agreement with the government for outgoing and incoming calls. But last year, the government called for its operation to be suspended due to some irregularities. It was sent to the legislature for investigation and possible recommendations.
The joint committee recommended for its renegotiation, but the LTA has decided to bring a new company into the market to replace it. The Minister of Justice, Cllr Oswald Tweh gave an opinion calling for renomination rather than cancellation.
He spoke generally on contracts. He added, Liberia is obliged to have these deals in place because anything contrary will have negative impact, and will scare investors, as doing so would put the country in an awkward position of being unreliable.
However, addressing CTM and ‘Medtech Scientific’ Deals that have long engendered national debate, VP Koung said he’s moving “with the speed I am moving with” to fix problematic port and customs contracts because he knows the terrain — and because Liberia’s reputation with investors is at stake.
“That is my area; I told people I am an entrepreneur. God blessed me I am here; and as sooner it finishes, I will go right back because that somewhere I got passion for,” Koung said in remarks that have since circulated among policymakers and the business community.
“If I don’t fix it and I go back there, my friends will tell me ‘my man you were there you did not help us with the thing, and you come back here with the same thing again.’ Then, I will be taking to somebody else, and that is why I am moving with the speed I am moving with.”
