All-time politician, Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh, sharing his thoughts on the much revered BHP Billiton Agreement which the government says stands to benefit the country, said the concession , as it is, is out-of-date, and that it is not promotive of Liberalization.
His statement comes amidst the commencement of Public Hearings in the National Legislature on the ratification of several concession agreements, including that of the BHP Billiton Mineral Development Agreement.“There must be an alternative path to what the Government is doing in the BHP Billiton-Kitoma case and the National Legislature must respect Article 24 of the Constitution of Liberia, by not ratifying the BHP Billiton Agreement if the legislature is to be respected by the Liberian electorates,” he said in a strong worded statement issued to the effect.
An economist by profession, he told journalists why he has taken such a position about the Agreement, insisting that BHP Billiton is illegally operating on the private property of Dr. Joseph N. Togba, a Liberian.
Historicizing his claims, Tipoteh indicated that in 1965, the Kitoma Mining Range in Nimba County, the private property of Dr. Togba, was expropriated by the Government of Liberia and made part of the Liberian-American-Swedish Minerals Company (LAMCO) concession area.
In keeping with Article 24 of the Constitution of Liberia, he said as the Agreement between the Government of Liberia and LAMCO came to an end, the Kitoma Mining Range must be offered first to Dr. Togba who has the constitutional rights of first refusal.
Another reason he provided was that only if Dr. Togba refuses to accept the offer from the Government, in essence, meaning that the property is now available for Dr. Togba to use, other than Government which quoted the Liberian leader as having the right to offer the Kitoma Mining Range to any other party.
Based on this, he said the Government of Liberia was in violation of Article 24 of the Constitution because , he narrated, “it violates the constitutional rights of a Liberian, Dr. Joseph N. Togba, by giving BHP Billiton, a foreign firm, the non-constitutional right to engage in mining activities, using the private property of a Liberian.”
By trampling on the constitutional rights of a Liberian, Dr. Joseph N. Togba, the statement quoted him as lamenting that the Government was in fact working against Liberalization because, he claimed, “opportunities constitutionally available for Liberians to do business, earn income, support families and institutions.”
By this, the opposition leader said, the government was deliberately and illegally taking away from Liberians what is due them and giving it to foreigners, thereby compromising the national interest and security of Liberia.
According to Dr. Tipoteh, such act on the part of the government was sad and vexing that in times like these, after a most devasting civil war that worsened the already massive poverty situation, in the midst of the great need to pursue the rule of law and justice without fear or favor, the Government is repeating the main mistakes of the past by acting above the law and perpetuating the injustices that were principle pretext for the civil war.
He regretted the fact that BHP Billiton which he alleged was is an illegal occupant of a land belonging to a Liberian, has embarked on a massive public relations campaign, using huge billboards, to win the hearts and minds of the Liberian people.
