Editorial: Min. Samuel Tweah’s US Visa Restriction Over ArcelorMittal’s Third Amendment Agreement

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 Finance and Development Planning, Samuel D. Tweah, has observed that the sanction placed on him and others is unbelievably unjust, unfair and a fundamental violation of their rights, stating that he was advised that to avoid sanction he should withdraw his support for ArcelorMittal’s third amendment until after the election.

“𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐎𝐍 this basis that I advised President Weah to turn over negotiations on the rail to the U.S. government since too much propaganda and misinformation were threatening to destroy members of his government,” he stated. He said, not achieving anything, the Americans withdrew and turned negotiations back to the Government of Liberia (GOL).

𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃 that the truth of the matter is AccelorMittal has an agreement with the Government of Liberia (GOL) signed by the Unity Party government that gives Mittal the right to use the Nimba rail and to be an operator of this rail, and President Weah government’s vision to develop a multiuser rail system.

“𝐖𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 to ensure ArcelorMittal relinquish operatorship of the rail to an Independent third-party rail operator for purposes of fairness and equity,” Minister Tweah disclosed. Minister Tweah said ArcelorMittal has not been open to this position, and they have been at a deadlock for more than three years.

𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃, 𝐃𝐔𝐄 to the impossibility of having ArcelorMittal give up rail operators and knowing the government was not willing to proceed to international arbitration, the government moved to a position of having AML become the user-operator in exchange for other critical rights ArcelorMittal would have to give up under its current concession that would enable fair and equitable access to third parties such as HPX.

𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄, 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐇 has argued that these public designations without any due process, without any investigation to which those who are accused are involved, where they have the chance to dispel rumors and counter misrepresentations or misinformation, do not represent the values and norms of the democratic freedom-loving America he has admired since his youth.

“𝐈 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐔𝐄 here publicly that these outcomes do not represent the stated foreign policy objectives as conceived and understood by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and by President Joseph R. Biden. I know these outcomes are the work of powerfully placed officials or bureaucrats within the U.S government who have deep connections and relations here in Liberia and who are sworn and are committed to weakening the CDC,” he noted.