ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML) has turned over a huge deposit of valuable metal scrap materials to authorities of Bong County to be sold and proceeds used to renovate a public school in the Rock Crusher Community of Korkoya District.
At the turnover ceremony recently, AML Community Liaison Officer, Joseph Sloan, told the local leaders and locals that the county authority and AML reached the agreement for the people of the district to benefit from the proceeds of the scrap metals and that the company expects a transparent and accountable use of whatever is generated from the sale.
According to Mr. Sloan, the consensus between AML and the Superintendent of Bong County was that the proceeds be used to renovate the school in Rock Crusher to provide better education facilities for young people in the area.
In the presence of the Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent, J. Cammue N Dormea, Paramount Chief Junior Tarr, Statutory District Commissioner Mary Quoinah, Statutory Superintendent Conteh Yallah, Clan Chief Sackie Quemini, and Chief Elder John Loway among others, Mr. Sloan charged the people to set up a committee that will coordinate the sale of the scraps and manage the proceeds for accountability and beneficial return, noting that AML will still follow up on it to know how the proceeds will address the targeted issue.
Administrative Assistant Dormea in a brief remark acknowledged the mutual partnership between AML and the local authorities of Bong County, which according to him has yielded many benefits for the people.
“The Superintendent asked me to tell you that whatever proceeds that will come from the sale of the scraps should be used for the intended purpose, and the purpose is to renovate the school here for the education of our children,” Dormea said.
Statutory Superintendent, Conteh Yallah, commended AML for handing over the scrap metals to the county authority of Bong and subsequently to the people of Korkoyah District after a period of negotiation with the company’s management. He also lauded the people of the district for protecting the scrap while the arrangement and negotiation were ongoing, assuring that after the sale, AML and the county authorities will be invited to the dedication ceremony of the project for which the proceeds are intended to address.
The Government of Liberia’s representative on the ArcelorMittal Liberia Board of Directors, Miss Daybah Johnson has expressed delight over the company’s operations, ahead of its Phase Two expansion project.
Miss Daybah at the end of a one-day visit to the ArcelorMittal Liberia concession in Buchanan praised the management for what she termed as the good working condition being provided for its Liberian employees.
The board member on her visit to the concession toured the port and rail facilities and interacted with members of the workforce. She also met with some members of the AML management, including the CEO, Mr. Joep Coenen.
During the meeting, CEO Coenen provided an overview of the company’s Phase Two operations, noting that the expansion project will bring increased revenue growth for the country, create new jobs, and increase AML’s contributions toward county social development among others.
AML’s Corporate Responsibility Manager, Eric Swen briefed Board Member Daybah Johnson on some of the company’s contributions to the country, especially the mining communities in Bong, Nimba, and Grand Bassa, where it operates.
Among them, Swen named the AML Advanced Scholarship program through which the company has and continues to sponsor Liberian college students to study abroad, and the recently launched Community Scholarship program, for high school students. Through these programs, he said AML as a sustainable corporate partner to the country will remain committed to the human resource development of citizens.
The Corporate Responsibility manager also mentioned the company’s huge contributions to the health sector, outside of the operation of its hospitals in Yekepa and Buchanan. According to him, AML in addition to previous efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, remains engaged with the health sector, with meaningful contributions.
Recently, the company contributed US$40,000 to modernize and make the JFK Surgical ward operational, he said. In addition, he said the company also recently contributed US$85,000 for the construction of a modern health center in Gbapa, a mining affected town in Nimba county that is nearing completion, and the ongoing renovation of the G.H. Harley Hospital in Sanniquellie at the cost of US$45,000, among others.
At the end of her tour and the separate briefings, the board member praised the company for all it continues to do for the country and its citizens and encouraged the management to continue to do more.
“I was impressed. All I can say is, thank you to ArcelorMittal because once Liberians are taking over in these various places, the company is like a Liberian company,” she said.
She welcomed the company’s Phase Two expansion project and expressed the hope that the third MDA amendment can be ratified soon, to give way to the company’s expansion.
“With the phase two or the MDA amendment that needs to be ratified, it will also be good for the Liberian people because, in that amendment, over 2,000 Liberians will be employed. Some will be at the senior management level. So, if it is signed, it will provide jobs for Liberians who do not have jobs and people will be able to put food on their tables,” she said.
Board Member Miss. Daybah Johnson urged the company to live by its commitment to the agreement when it is ratified.
She spoke to the press following her mission to the ArcelorMittal Liberia Buchanan Concession.
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