The upper and lower Houses of the Liberian Legislature are split over giving approval of the 3rtd ArcelorMittal Liberia Mineral Development Agreement totaling US$800 million over the next few years.
This division between the two houses has come to the open, with President Pro-Tempore of the Senate dismissing the March 29, 2022 decision of the House of Representatives to reject ArcelorMittal’s 3rd Mineral Development Agreement.
In his opening statement on the agenda of the 22nd Day Sitting, the 5th Session of the 54th Legislation on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, Senator Albert Chie informed the Senate that ArcelorMittal Mineral Agreement is still on the Senate’s agenda for this sitting.
Pro Temp Chie
The opening marked the 22nd Day Sitting and resumption of duties by Senators after the annual Easter Break.
In his subsequent media briefing after Session, the Senate Pro Tempore told Journalist on Capitol Hill that reports in the media that the ArcelorMittal deal has been sent back to the President is not to the knowledge of the Senate, and that the House of Representatives will have to act accordingly if that were the case.
Senator Chie also emphasized that the ArcelorMittal deal hasn’t been rejected by the Legislature, as far as the Senate is concerned.
Reports say despite the House of Representatives’ shocking and abrupt decision to send back the agreement to the executive, Pro-Tempore Chie in his official address to senators in chambers on Tuesday noted that the Senate still anticipates a conference to resolve key issues in the US$1 Billion deal with the executive.
He however added that the senate will remind members of the House of Representatives of its communication of the February 15, 2022 communication, which contains reasons for which the senate failed to concur with the version of the ArcelorMittal deal recently passed by members of the lower House of the legislature.
Some political analysts say this latest statement by the leader of the Senate deals a blow to members of the House who surprised the public by convening an emergency Executive Session on March 29, 2022.
That was just a day before the House’s closure for Easter break, only to arbitrarily send back AML deal to the executive for “renegotiation”, without consultation with the Senate.