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ADNews-Margibi County, Liberia: ArcelorMittal Liberia’s recent announcement of a US$527,000 commitment to rehabilitate a 28-kilometer road stretch from Kakata City to the Firestone Staff Clubhouse has drawn widespread criticism from residents and civil society actors in Margibi County.
Last week, the company officially broke ground to begin the project. However, many citizens have voiced serious concerns about the cost, describing it as “unrealistic” for a project that will involve only grading and compacting, not full asphalt paving.
One of the strongest critics, geologist and climate change activist Forkpayea Flourish W. Siafa, took to Facebook to express his frustration. He accused both ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML) and District #3 Representative Ellen Attoh Wreh of misleading the public.
“Margibians are not proud or happy with AML,” Siafa wrote. “Our lawmaker is a toothless bulldog… AML is doing grading and compacting of roads in the 21st century—stop playing with our people.”
Siafa also questioned the stated distance of the road project, arguing that the stretch between C.H. Rennie Junction and Firestone’s Division 26 Gate is actually shorter than 28 kilometers. He noted that Firestone routinely maintains its own roads, casting doubt on the scale and necessity of AML’s involvement.
Furthermore, Siafa criticized the Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) between AML and the Government of Liberia, asserting that Margibi County has not benefited from it in the same way as Nimba, Bong, and Grand Bassa counties, despite being significantly impacted by AML’s operations.
Echoing similar concerns, Sandy Johnson, speaking on behalf of Citizens United for Sustainable Development in Margibi County, labeled the project a “waste of resources.”
“Using US$527,000 just to grade and compact a major road used by three multi-billion-dollar companies, Firestone Liberia, ArcelorMittal, and China Union, is unacceptable,” Johnson said. “It’s not sustainable and will create additional health hazards for road users.”
The citizens’ group issued several recommendations, including:
Firestone Liberia should contribute additional resources, either in cash or materials, to support the road project.
The Margibi County Legislative Caucus should engage Firestone to prepay two to three years of land rental fees to fund sustainable road development.
Legislative project funds should be redirected to support actual road paving initiatives.
The group is also calling for a temporary suspension of the project until their recommendations are adequately considered.
However, AML, in their groundbreaking ceremony, stated that road rehabilitation is being carried out under strict safety standards and is expected to be completed within two months. The project is led by Jallah Selmah, General Manager of Mines, and newly appointed Road Construction Coordinator, Benjamin Momolu.
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