The plenary of the House of Representatives has endorsed a communication from Sinoe County’s electoral district #3 Representative, Alex S. Noah, requesting the appearance of the Minister of Commerce and Industry and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bea Mountain Mining Company to provide reasons why the company is reportedly operating cement and mineral water factories—activities prohibited under Liberia’s 1975 Liberianization Policy.
In his communication to plenary, Tuesday, during its 7th day sitting of the 3rd quarter of the 2nd session, Representative Noah described the company’s alleged action as a “grave contravention of the 1975 Act to Amend the General Business Law of Liberia”, which reserves twelve (12) categories of business exclusively for Liberians.
The lawmaker emphasized that it would be a “disservice to struggling Liberian entrepreneurs” for a multi-million-dollar foreign concessionaire already engaged in gold extraction to venture into small-scale business activities reserved for Liberians’ economic empowerment and growth.
The 1975 Liberianization Policy was designed to ensure that Liberians have exclusive ownership and participation in specific sectors of the economy as a means of promoting national development and reducing economic disparity.
Plenary has mandated that a specialized committee be constituted by the Speaker to investigate the allegations and report findings and recommendations to the full body for appropriate legislative action.