The House of Representatives has disclosed that President George Manneh Weah has submitted to the House for ratification the restated and amended mineral development agreement between Liberia and Bea Mountain Mining Corporation (BMMC).
President Weah informed the House of Representatives that the BMMC agreement has been amended to reflect, among other things changes to the tenure of the agreement, improvement in fiscal terms, and strengthening of terms relating to social and community development obligations.
“The Inter-Ministerial Concession Committee (IMCC) has ensured that the Land Rights Law was strictly adhered to; as a result, the amended agreement also strengthened the terms of the agreement relative to Free Prior Information Consent (FPIC) and recognized the community’s equity in the project,” President Weah outlined.
The Liberian Leader added that the company has signed memoranda of understanding (MOU) with different clans that are directly affected by its mining activities to ensure they receive direct financial benefit, in addition to the community development funds.
President George Weah maintained that the project will bring key benefits such as value addition and job creation and improvement in fiscal terms, thereby contributing to the economic recovery program. He, accordingly, urged the House of Representatives to ratify the agreement.
Meanwhile, the instrument has been forwarded to the Committees on Investment and Mines, Energy and Natural Resources to report before the closure of the extraordinary session.