The New Dawn (Monrovia) | 14 August 2013
Liberia: Company Resurvey Resisted in Grand Bassa
Grand Bassa County Legislative Caucus has reportedly instructed citizens of Electoral District Four in the county to obstruct a resurvey by the Equatorial Palm Oil in their area. As a result of the locals' protest against the company, over 250 employees, including expatriates have been sacked.
Investigation conducted revealed that Equatorial Palm Oil's operation in Bassa is currently experiencing setback owing to the action by the Legislative Caucus via the citizens. As a result, the company is contemplating on a possible pull out.
At a recent mass meeting, which was attended by Representative Robertson Siaway, proxies from Superintendent Etweada Cooper's office, traditional leaders, women groups, youth leaders and Mr. Sabato Moore, an EPO Liason to the district, the citizens said they will not allow the company to conduct the resurvey unless the Caucus instructed them to do so.
During the meeting, Mr. Charles Chedegar, spokesperson for administrative district four turned down an appealed by Mr. Moore on grounds that the Legislative Caucus has since taken a stance against the company.
He averred that the people of district #4 have resolved not to bow to any pressure or threat from the Management of EPO, because they believe in their lawmakers. The situation, which has caused criminal activities to increase in the district, has also claimed the attention of County Superintendent Cooper, who is exerting every effort to find an amicable resolution to the dispute.
In 1965, LIBINCO entered into a long-term concession agreement with the Government of Liberia (GOL) to develop 34,500 acres of land in Grand Bassa into oil palm plantation. LIBINCO operated in the district outbreak of civil war 1989. However, following the war in 2003, EPO inherited the concession from LIBINCO.
EPO, otherwise known as Palm Bay, secured a Government of Liberia rectified agreement, enacted into law for a period of 50 years with a rehabilitation period of seven years and a regular term of 40 years, beginning May, 2008.
According to the Concession Agreement, the rehabilitation begins May, 2008 to May 2015, as the regular period is expected to follow thereafter. The concession area covers 34,500 acres of land within New Cess, Kpogbahn Administrative District #4, Grand Bassa County.
As part of its strategy to fully develop the concession area given by government, the company opened mass nurseries and embarked on replanting 3,000 hectares of land, with an outstanding of 1,500 which is part of a little over 9,000 acres of the 34, 5000 acres targeted in phase one of its operation.
In accordance with section 3© of the concession agreement with government, which calls for a resurvey of the 34,500acres, EPO surveyed the area via the Global Positional System (GPS) technology which result was opposed by the citizens of district #4, thus resulting to a big dispute between the company and the locals, leaving the district youth council with no alternative but to order EPO to halt its extension program.
The youth group also wrote the County Legislative Caucus, asking for urgent intervention. Following a detail briefing relative to what was unfolding in the district, Superintendent Cooper sent a fact-finding team to the area with a mandate to investigate reports of brewing tension between EPO and citizens of the district.
The team comprised of the County Information and Statistics Officer, Isaac J. Duah, Numene B. Reeves, County Development Officer, and Christian Logan, County Planner of LISGIS, Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, respectively.
The team embarked on the task on June 11 2013 and completed their facts finding on June 16, 2013. As part of its finding, the team discovered that EPO refused to adhere to its corporate social commitment to affected communities - a recipe for the dispute.
Liberia: Company Resurvey Resisted in Grand Bassa
Grand Bassa County Legislative Caucus has reportedly instructed citizens of Electoral District Four in the county to obstruct a resurvey by the Equatorial Palm Oil in their area. As a result of the locals' protest against the company, over 250 employees, including expatriates have been sacked.
Investigation conducted revealed that Equatorial Palm Oil's operation in Bassa is currently experiencing setback owing to the action by the Legislative Caucus via the citizens. As a result, the company is contemplating on a possible pull out.
At a recent mass meeting, which was attended by Representative Robertson Siaway, proxies from Superintendent Etweada Cooper's office, traditional leaders, women groups, youth leaders and Mr. Sabato Moore, an EPO Liason to the district, the citizens said they will not allow the company to conduct the resurvey unless the Caucus instructed them to do so.
During the meeting, Mr. Charles Chedegar, spokesperson for administrative district four turned down an appealed by Mr. Moore on grounds that the Legislative Caucus has since taken a stance against the company.
He averred that the people of district #4 have resolved not to bow to any pressure or threat from the Management of EPO, because they believe in their lawmakers. The situation, which has caused criminal activities to increase in the district, has also claimed the attention of County Superintendent Cooper, who is exerting every effort to find an amicable resolution to the dispute.
In 1965, LIBINCO entered into a long-term concession agreement with the Government of Liberia (GOL) to develop 34,500 acres of land in Grand Bassa into oil palm plantation. LIBINCO operated in the district outbreak of civil war 1989. However, following the war in 2003, EPO inherited the concession from LIBINCO.
EPO, otherwise known as Palm Bay, secured a Government of Liberia rectified agreement, enacted into law for a period of 50 years with a rehabilitation period of seven years and a regular term of 40 years, beginning May, 2008.
According to the Concession Agreement, the rehabilitation begins May, 2008 to May 2015, as the regular period is expected to follow thereafter. The concession area covers 34,500 acres of land within New Cess, Kpogbahn Administrative District #4, Grand Bassa County.
As part of its strategy to fully develop the concession area given by government, the company opened mass nurseries and embarked on replanting 3,000 hectares of land, with an outstanding of 1,500 which is part of a little over 9,000 acres of the 34, 5000 acres targeted in phase one of its operation.
In accordance with section 3© of the concession agreement with government, which calls for a resurvey of the 34,500acres, EPO surveyed the area via the Global Positional System (GPS) technology which result was opposed by the citizens of district #4, thus resulting to a big dispute between the company and the locals, leaving the district youth council with no alternative but to order EPO to halt its extension program.
The youth group also wrote the County Legislative Caucus, asking for urgent intervention. Following a detail briefing relative to what was unfolding in the district, Superintendent Cooper sent a fact-finding team to the area with a mandate to investigate reports of brewing tension between EPO and citizens of the district.
The team comprised of the County Information and Statistics Officer, Isaac J. Duah, Numene B. Reeves, County Development Officer, and Christian Logan, County Planner of LISGIS, Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, respectively.
The team embarked on the task on June 11 2013 and completed their facts finding on June 16, 2013. As part of its finding, the team discovered that EPO refused to adhere to its corporate social commitment to affected communities - a recipe for the dispute.
