By G. Watson Richards
A leading diaspora coalition, the Resource Equity Alliance of Liberia (REAL), has issued a strong statement demanding sweeping reforms in Liberia’s natural resource management, warning that the nation’s sovereignty and economic future are “at stake.”
In a press release dated October 31, 2025, the group, comprising Liberian scholars, activists, and professionals across the diaspora, condemned decades of what it described as “government-endorsed looting” of national resources through concession agreements that benefit foreign corporations and domestic elites while leaving ordinary Liberians in poverty.
“Liberia is at a crossroads,” the statement read. “Decades of resource extraction reveal a troubling pattern: our rich natural resources have been poorly managed, leaving everyday Liberians in poverty while foreign interests and elites benefit the most.”
REAL’s statement singled out major mining companies, including ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML) and Bea Mountain Mining Corporation (BMMC), accusing both of serious violations of their concession agreements.
According to the group, AML “openly admitted to multiple violations” during a July 10, 2025 Senate hearing, including:
Failing to employ qualified Liberians in executive roles,
Neglecting to establish promised healthcare facilities, and
Failing to contribute to Liberia’s Mineral Research and Development Fund
The group also cited a recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fine against AML over pollution in Nimba County, where local rivers were reportedly contaminated with “elevated levels of iron, lead, selenium, and chromium.” REAL described this as part of a broader pattern of “environmental negligence.”
REAL’s Executive Director, Alergone Morris Kiazolu, called for the permanent cancellation of AML’s proposed Third Amendment to its Mineral Development Agreement (MDA).
“This is not about one company or one railway,” Kiazolu said. “It is about a broken system that allows national assets to be traded away while our people remain poor.”
The group also condemned the 25-year extension granted to Bea Mountain Mining Corporation, referencing a 2024 legislative investigation that found “massive violations of labor, environmental, and social obligations.”
“Foreign nationals were performing jobs reserved for Liberians,” REAL stated. “The company failed to provide scholarships, abandoned educational projects, and misrepresented basic road works as infrastructure development.”
‘Secret Deal’ Over National Equity
REAL’s statement further decried what it called a “governance void,” pointing to a “secret deal” that allegedly reduced Liberia’s national equity stake in ArcelorMittal from 30% to 15% without public consultation or legislative approval.
“This 50% reduction of a national asset was carried out in secrecy,” the group asserted. “It exemplifies the resource curse and confirms that our governance system is designed to favor elites.”
Proposing a ‘New Social Contract’
To break what it described as Liberia’s “resource curse,” REAL is advocating for a complete overhaul of the country’s resource governance system, drawing inspiration from Botswana and Chile, whose models have successfully converted natural wealth into sustainable prosperity.
“We demand a new social contract based on people’s sovereignty,” REAL declared. “Liberia must adopt the Botswana and Chilean frameworks that have turned natural wealth into national prosperity.”
