—-As Senate Ignores Investigative Committee Report
IPNEWS: Late Thursday night, the Liberian Senate, in what many observers describe as an embarrassing reversal, ignored the findings of its own Joint Transport and Infrastructure Committee and passed the controversial Ivanhoe Atlantic agreement without reservation.
The committee’s report was presented to plenary by Senator Saah Joseph, chairman of the joint committee. However, in a surprising turn, nearly all members of the committee—including Senator Nya Twayen, who had earlier vowed to vote against the deal—refused to sign the report.
Following the reading of the report, Senator Joseph requested that committee members be granted time to review and formally sign the document. His plea was rejected after Senator Abraham Darius Dillon led opposition to any effort aimed at validating the report through signatures.
Despite having participated in earlier hearings with government officials and demanding to see Ivanhoe’s articles of incorporation before any vote was taken, Senator Dillon later raised a motion for the Senate to retrieve the matter from its investigative committee and concur with the House of Representatives, which had already passed the agreement without reservation. The motion was approved by the Senate.
Moments before the final vote, Senator Joseph again appealed to his colleagues to include provisions for the paving of the Yekepa–Guinea road, warning that communities in Nimba County would otherwise be left engulfed in dust and environmental degradation as Ivanhoe hauls iron ore by road. This request was also rejected.
The Senate’s decision to completely disregard its own committee report has raised serious questions about the purpose of establishing the joint committee in the first place. Critics argue that the move undermines legislative oversight and the credibility of the Senate’s investigative processes.
With the Senate’s approval, Ivanhoe will now be permitted to transport iron ore by road from Guinea into Liberia—mirroring the controversial arrangement previously granted to Western Cluster.
Summary of the Senate Joint Committee Report on the Ivanhoe Concession and Access Agreement (CAA)
The Liberian Senate constituted a Joint Committee to review the proposed Concession and Access Agreement between the Government of Liberia and Ivanhoe Atlantic, with a mandate to assess its legal, economic, fiscal, environmental, governance, and national interest implications, as well as compliance with Liberia’s treaty obligations with Guinea.
The Committee held a public hearing on December 12, 2025, reviewed relevant agreements and laws, and requested documents from the Executive Branch. However, it found serious non-responsiveness and documentary deficiencies. Most documents submitted were outdated, failed to address core compliance issues, and provided no evidence of formal engagement with the Government of Guinea since August 2021. Assertions of recent contacts with Guinea were not supported by documentation.
A major concern was Liberia’s apparent non-compliance with the Liberia–Guinea Implementation Agreement. The Committee found no evidence that key joint institutions required under the treaty—namely the Inter-Ministerial Committee, Monitoring Committee, and Joint Technical Secretariat—were ever established or operational, raising serious treaty compliance, diplomatic, and sovereignty risks given that the agreement depends on the transshipment of Guinean iron ore through Liberia.
While acknowledging projected economic benefits such as jobs, local content opportunities, and an estimated US$1.8 billion in payments over 25 years, the Committee noted these figures were not supported by independent studies. It also raised concerns about infrastructure plans, particularly the proposal to use an unpaved heavy-haul road, unclear timelines for rail construction, low access fees for Liberia’s strategic rail assets, and potential conflicts with the existing rights of ArcelorMittal Liberia.
Additional issues identified included risks to legislative sovereignty from provisions mandating the creation of a National Rail Authority through a concession agreement, uncertainty around termination if Guinea withholds consent, questions over the legal basis of US$37 million already paid by Ivanhoe, and the absence of performance guarantees.
The Committee recommended conditional approval of the agreement, subject to key amendments. These include requiring the road to be fully paved before haulage, mandating rail construction within two years, increasing access fees, clarifying that prior payments are non-refundable signature bonuses, safeguarding legislative authority, ensuring community projects are not implemented directly by Ivanhoe, and automatically terminating the agreement if Guinea’s approval is not obtained within five years.
In conclusion, the Committee recognized the agreement’s potential benefits but emphasized that Liberia’s sovereignty, treaty obligations, infrastructure protection, and national interest must take precedence.
