THE MINISTRY OF Labor granting of work permit to Turkish nationals to do such jobs as security and carry out painting of the Bea Mountain Mining Company’s compound, which do not require expatriates, has fuelled the tension at the concession area, causing the citizens to stand up for their rights and demand that the company do the right thing: employ Liberians. The foreigners would not have gotten those jobs if the government, through the Ministry of Labor, had not issued them work permit.
“ACCORDING TO MOST of these MDAs, where Liberians are not qualified to take up certain managerial positions, the company from the start is given certain number of years to train Liberians to take over. The enforcement of this aspect of the MDA rests squarely with the Ministry of Labor,” observers have disclosed.
THEY NOTED THAT, instead of protecting the interest of the Liberian employees, the Labor Ministry is bent on issuing work permits to foreign individuals for jobs that Liberians can do; as such, the company cannot be blamed for the misfortune at the concession area.
OBSERVERS CLOSELY FOLLOWING the unfolding at Bea Mountain Mining Company say the Government of Liberia (GOL) is to be blamed for the current crisis at the company. Observers who spoke to the Hot Pepper on the basis of anonymity for fear that they might lose their jobs said the government stands accused because, in the first place, it failed to bring local citizens on board during the discussion for a possible mineral development agreement, where it could have told them what the responsibility of the company is in the concession area.
OBSERVERS, DELVING INTO the situation, are saying that, the construction of road network and the electrification of private homes are the responsibility of the government and not the company, but because the government has refused to come clean to its citizens and enforce the Liberianization aspect of the MDA this has helped to fuel tension at the concession.