IPNEWS: Labour Minister Cllr. Cooper W. Kruah, Sr. has expressed optimism that the ongoing renegotiated contract between the Liberia Agricultural Company (LAC) and the Government of Liberia will include clear provisions to elevate qualified Liberian staff to senior managerial positions.
Minister Kruah noted that empowering Liberians to assume leadership roles within major concession companies will not only reduce the cost of hiring foreign experts but also ensure continuity and sustainability in company operations when expatriate managers eventually depart.
He made the remarks on Tuesday, October 28, when the senior management team of LAC paid him a courtesy visit at his Capitol Hill office. The visit was intended to brief the minister on the company’s ongoing renegotiation of its investment portfolio with the Liberian Government.
Minister Kruah reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fostering investment that empowers Liberians, in line with President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID). He also urged the LAC management to increase the recruitment of women, emphasizing that gender equality remains a key pillar of national growth and development.
The Labour Minister outlined several initiatives being implemented under his administration, including the Occupational Health and Safety Program and the Liberia Works Platform, both designed to protect workers’ welfare and support job seekers in making informed career decisions.
He also informed the delegation about the ministry’s recent decision to increase annual fees for Alien Work Permits, while urging the LAC management to develop a more efficient system for transporting latex between workstations to ease the physical burden currently faced by workers.
Minister Kruah assured the LAC delegation of his ministry’s continued cooperation in promoting decent work standards and improving labor relations across the concession sector.
For his part, Mr. Regis Helsmoortel, LAC’s General Manager and Head of Agronomy at the company’s foreign board based in Switzerland, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to promoting Liberians into key positions. He said, “It is better to recruit from within,” adding that several Liberian employees have already been elevated to strategic managerial roles and deployed at LAC facilities in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria.
Mr. Helsmoortel further disclosed that as of this year, over 3,300 Liberians are employed with LAC, compared to only 11 expatriate staff, marking a significant shift toward local workforce empowerment.
Meanwhile, Minister Kruah announced plans to resume his nationwide assessment tour of major investment and business entities across the country, beginning with the Liberia Agricultural Company in Grand Bassa County.
