Top: Some lawmakers at the training workshop. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr
By Esau J. Farr
MONROVIA – Lawmakers on concession committees have learned how to use a new tool to review contracts to increase revenue generated from natural resources.
Integrity Watch Liberia organized the training with funding from the Irish Aid. Participants in the event included the Legislature, especially lawmakers, Integrity Watch, and the Irish Embassy.
“Effective natural resource governance requires a strong legislature – one that can engage rigorously with concession agreements and understand their fiscal implications,” said Gérard Considine, Irish ambassador to Liberia, at the event. “You, as members of the legislature, hold that responsibility.”
Lawmakers on committees that review concessions will use the “standardized scoring framework.” Fifteen lawmakers—nine senators and six representatives—participated in the event.
Liberia’s resource sector, especially mining and concessions, is important for the country’s economic development. Concessions have, however, been marred by unfair fiscal terms, weak monitoring, a lack of transparency, and inadequate benefit-sharing with communities.
The training became necessary based on the request of lawmakers who attended previous workshops. Past participants have called for more training and a developed tool as a guide to review agreements, according to Integrity Watch.
In response, Integrity Watch collaborated with the African Parliamentary Network on Illicit Financial Flows and Taxation (APNIFFT) to develop the framework. It is in line with international best practices and provides a structured, evidence-based method for assessing agreements on legal, fiscal, social, environmental, and governance lines.
Participating lawmakers expressed their appreciation for the training and the tool. The legislators also called on the organizers of the training for greater opportunities for all members of the first branch of government, aimed at enhancing their oversight role.
“We thought this was necessary not only for the current lawmakers, but also for future lawmakers,” said Harold Aidoo, head of Integrity Watch, in an interview with The DayLight.
“This standardized scoring framework is a landmark tool to enhance the work of members of the legislature to carefully scrutinize concession agreements in Liberia.”
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