-Says Senator Snowe

In can be recalled in June 2022, Bomi County Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe disclosed that Western Cluster Ltd was set to resume operations in Western Liberia following the Ebola and Coronavirus pandemics respectively that struck Liberia and other parts of the world.

Western Cluster Liberia is one of the biggest concessions in that region. Western Liberia is considered one of the most impoverished regions in Liberia. Therefore, concessions in the area go a long way in providing jobs and improving the standard of living in the area.

The company signed a 25-year Mineral Development Agreement with the Government of Liberia in August 2011.

Under the agreement, the company is expected to mine up to 30 million tons of iron ore annually, comprised primarily of quartz, hematite, and magnetite, such weathering and replacement products as martite and limonite.

Western Cluster Limited, until the Ebola pandemic, reportedly made annual contributions of US$ 2.8 million for social and educational projects and launched a project to provide free medical services to residents in hard-to-reach villages in Bomi County.

However, the company pullout in 2014 due to Ebola pandemic and subsequently, the coronavirus pandemic.

However, having held several negotiations with the company, Bomi County Senator Edwin Snowe lauded President George Weah and his administration for providing an enabling environment for the resumption of Western Cluster operations in Bomi. “The Government has been very instrumental and magnanimous in making sure that the company resumes operation.”

It can be recalled Senator Snowe traveled to India for several days, where he said he did all he could to persuade the hierarchy of the company to return to Liberia after it folded up during heat of the Ebola pandemic.

On Wednesday, June 8, 2022, Western Cluster broke ground to recommence its operations in Bomi. The ground breaking ceremony came barely few days after the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the company in Nimba County, instead of the counties that are affected by the company’s operations.

The MOU was signed following the failure of the 2010 MDA the company signed with the government to operate at three iron ore deposits, including the Bomi Hills Mines, in Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, and Gbarpolu Counties.

In a resolution under the banner of the Bomi County United Concerned Citizens, constituents claimed that authorities at Western Cluster and the County Legislative Caucus had miserably failed to provide the necessary information on the operations of the company and what they stood to benefit as a county and people.

The aggrieved citizens, including Paramount, Clan, and Town Chiefs, as well as Youth Leaders, affixed their signatures to the resolution following the climax of a mass meeting held in Klay Town on January 7.

Sen. Snowe, in an Okay FM interview on Thursday, January 12, 2023 said that he accepted to represent the County’s Legislative Caucus to negotiate for the company’s return due to the need for the county to work along with the Government in a bid to activate something that will boom economic activities and “provide employment opportunities for hundreds of citizens of Bomi.”

“After my nomination by the Caucus, I started to engage the Executive to ensure that the company either relinquished or resumed its operations. And the Executive was extremely magnanimous to ensure that citizens of the county benefit from the deal.”

According to him, authorities of the company during the meeting expressed concerns over their inability to settle the US$23 million owed the Liberian government in taxes prior to the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease.

He noted that the company justified that it had previously notified the Government about the shutting down of its operations due to the epidemic and wondered why the Liberian government was still billing it (company) even though it was not engaged in mining activities.

Senator Snowe disclosed that he informed the Government and authorities of Western Cluster that though the company shut down its operations and notified the Government, it still has a “social contract with the three counties” in keeping with the Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) signed with the government in 2011.

He added that the company was requested to fulfill the Social Agreement with citizens of its operational areas in the amount of US$10 million.

After a long conversation, according to Snowe, Western Cluster said: “We can pay US$5 million now, and when we begin our operation after the first shipment, we will pay the balance of US$5 million.”

“When the MOU was signed,” Snowe said, “my interest and only interest was to make sure my region and my county was taken care of. So, of course, they paid the US$5M to the government of Liberia about four months ago, and the Government has acknowledged receipt of the money.

“The government has said to the Counties that the Ministry of Internal Affairs should make the request as per the law, and this money will be paid to the three counties.”

Finance Minister Tweah’s Refuses to Pay US$5M to Bomi, Cape Mount & Gbarpolu

Appearing Tuesday, February 14, 2023 on local radio program, OK FM 99.5 Morning Rush program, Bomi County Senator Edwin Snowe disclosed since July of 2022 when Western Cluster paid the Government of Liberia US$5 million intended for Bomi, Grand Cape Mount and Gbarpolu Counties for being granted the concession rights to mine iron ore, the Minister of Finance Samuel Tweah has deliberately refused to remit the monies into the account of the three counties.

The Chair on Public Works and Rural Development, Senator Edwin Snowe of Bomi County stated despite efforts by stakeholders of the three counties to prevail on the Senate to make Minister Tweah remit the money, he has refused to do so for reasons nobody knows.

He said out of the US$5 million, Bomi County is to receive US$3.5 million, while the balance US$1.5 is to be divided between Cape Mount and Gbarpolu based on the agreement signed.

“We have exhausted all efforts to make Minister Tweah pay the US$6 million but he has refused to do. We asked the Senate President Tempore, Albert Chie to speak to the Minister to disburse the money but all to no avail. I have personally taken Senator Morris Saytumah as Chair on Budget in the Senate, and also a Senator from Bomi to do all he can so that the monies can be paid, but Minister Tweah has refused to pay the money,” Senator Snowe lamented.

The Bomi County Senator said the people of Bomi County are angry and have said reportedly to him that if the Government of Liberia refuses to pay the US$5 million, they will not vote for his reelection. “I am embarrassed by the situation as my people usually I am friend to President George Weah, but yet his Finance Minister Samuel Tweah has deliberately refused to pay them their monies which the counties need to undertake lot of projects and do other things for the better of those counties.”

“What we are bothered with is the US$3.5 million for Bomi County, and not or dime has been disbursed to Cape Mount, Bomi or Gbarpolu County, as our people are putting us under pressure, the matter of fact that all the noise you are hearing from people, is that they believe that the money has been paid and people take the money to government, and since than nothing has been disbursed to the Counties,” he averred.

He said, “We are making this appeal to  the entire Senate please ask the Minister of Finance and Development Planning that the US$5 million that Western Cluster paid in July of last year for the  three Counties, let them pay the money to the Counties, it’s affecting us,” Senator Snowe lamented.

“God Is My Judge, I Know My Heart” – Senator Edwin Snowe Resigns

It can be recalled despite his clarity and pronouncement of innocence of any clandestine activity against the welfare of the people of Bomi County and Liberia, Bomi County Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe continued to receive a barrage of criticism from Liberians both at home and in the Diaspora.

Senator Snowe said recently that he could no longer take it at a Town Hall meeting with citizens of Bomi County on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 when he symbolically washed his hands of anything concerning Western Cluster. He told the audience that his reputation was being damaged by citizens of the county and other members of the public for his role in the renegotiation of the deal.

Senator Snowe told the Bomi County Legislative Caucus, through its chairman, Senator Morris Saytumah, that he no longer wanted anything to do with the Western Cluster Deal, resigning his post as the Bomi Legislative Caucus’ Chief Negotiator.

The Bomi lawmaker averred what he was experiencing was unjustified damage to his character and reputation, all because he decided to work in the interest of his constituency, for the citizens to get a better livelihood through the resumption of the Western Cluster iron ore mining operations.

“When we started this Western Cluster thing, you asked me to represent the Caucus in ensuring that company comes back and does its best for our people. From all indications, our people are not happy. I am advising you, Mr. Chairman, let the caucus meet, let’s take the necessary action for our people to be protected. But going forward, the assignment that you gave me, as member of the Caucus, to represent the Caucus in these discussions, I hereby resign or relinquish that assignment as from today. I don’t want to have anything to do with Western Cluster. Find somebody from the Caucus and the County to move forward with the Western Cluster situation.

 “Moving forward, anything in the past, clarification, explanation that you want, I am prepared to give. But as of today’s date, I don’t want to have anything that has to do with Western Cluster. I have been called a criminal. My family is crying; my children are calling me. I am a human being. I am somebody’s son too. If what I did was wrong, I apologize to the people of Bomi County. But God is my judge, and I know my heart. Thank you. I am out of this whole process,” Snowe said as he relinquished his assignment to Senator Morris Saytumah of Bomi County.

The Senator, who was positioned as the ‘Chief Negotiator’ for the county, steps aside from negotiation with the company following immense public pressure which has since led to the Company’s fate hanging in the balance.

The citizens complained that the deal is not in the interest of the county, having brought no benefits – be it jobs or development projects. They have expressed disappointment that Senator Snowe could not prioritize their interest despite being top ranking member of the Liberian government negotiation team that has been engaging the company to resume operations in Bomi, Grand Cape, and Gbarpolu counties respectively.

Snowe has been accused and publicly condemned for his role(s) in the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that rearranged the financial obligations Western Cluster Mining Company had with the government and people of Liberia under a Mineral Development Agreement signed in 2011. Many, including the former Deputy Minister of Information, Eugene Fahngon, have also accused the lawmaker of profiteering from the process.

But the enraged Bomi County Lawmaker has maintained that he has done no wrong and that his only crime is to ensure that the Company resumes operations and provides jobs for citizens of Bomi or relinquish the MDA signed with the Government for 25 years for the purpose of mining iron ore.

It can be recalled Senator Snowe traveled to India for several days, where he said he did all he could to persuade the hierarchy of the company to return to Liberia after it folded up during heat of the Ebola pandemic.

It can be recalled that on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, Western Cluster broke ground to recommence its operations in Bomi. The ground breaking ceremony came barely a few days after the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the company in Nimba County, instead of the counties that are affected by the company’s operations.

The MOU was signed following the failure of the 2010 MDA the company signed with the government to operate at three iron ore deposits, including the Bomi Hills Mines, in Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, and Gbarpolu Counties.

In a resolution under the banner of the Bomi County United Concerned Citizens, constituents claimed that authorities at Western Cluster and the County Legislative Caucus had miserably failed to provide the necessary information on the operations of the company and what they stood to benefit as a county and people.

The aggrieved citizens, including Paramount, Clan, and Town Chiefs, as well as Youth Leaders, affixed their signatures to the resolution following the climax of a mass meeting held in Klay Town on January 7.

Sen. Snowe, in an Okay FM interview on Thursday, January 12, 2023 said that he accepted to represent the County’s Legislative Caucus to negotiate for the company’s return due to the need for the county to work along with the Government in a bid to activate something that will boom economic activities and “provide employment opportunities for hundreds of citizens of Bomi.”

“After my nomination by the Caucus, I started to engage the Executive to ensure that the company either relinquished or resumed its operations. And the Executive was extremely magnanimous to ensure that citizens of the county benefit from the deal.”

According to him, authorities of the company during the meeting expressed concerns over their inability to settle the US$23 million owed the Liberian government in taxes prior to the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease.

He noted that the company justified that it had previously notified the Government about the shutting down of its operations due to the epidemic and wondered why the Liberian government was still billing it (company) even though it was not engaged in mining activities.

Senator Snowe disclosed that he informed the Government and authorities of Western Cluster that though the company shut down its operations and notified the Government, it still has a “social contract with the three counties” in keeping with the Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) signed with the government in 2011.

He added that the company was requested to fulfill the Social Agreement with citizens of its operational areas in the amount of US$10 million.

After a long conversation, according to Snowe, Western Cluster said: “We can pay US$5 million now, and when we begin our operation after the first shipment, we will pay the balance of US$5 million.”

“When the MOU was signed,” Snowe said, “my interest and only interest was to make sure my region and my county was taken care of. So, of course, they paid the US$5M to the government of Liberia about four months ago, and the Government has acknowledged receipt of the money. 

“The government has said to the Counties that the Ministry of Internal Affairs should make the request as per the law, and this money will be paid to the three counties.”

In can be recalled in June 2022, Bomi County Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe disclosed that Western Cluster Ltd was set to resume operations in Western Liberia following the Ebola and Coronavirus pandemics respectively that struck Liberia and other parts of the world.

Western Cluster Liberia is one of the biggest concessions in that region. Western Liberia is considered one of the most impoverished regions in Liberia. Therefore, concessions in the area go a long way in providing jobs and improving the standard of living in the area.

The company signed a 25-year Mineral Development Agreement with the Government of Liberia in August 2011.

Under the agreement, the company is expected to mine up to 30 million tons of iron ore annually, comprised primarily of quartz, hematite, and magnetite, such weathering and replacement products as martite and limonite.

Western Cluster Limited, until the Ebola pandemic, reportedly made annual contributions of US$ 2.8 million for social and educational projects and launched a project to provide free medical services to residents in hard-to-reach villages in Bomi County.

However, the company pullout in 2014 due to Ebola pandemic and subsequently, the coronavirus pandemic.

However, having held several negotiations with the company, Bomi County Senator Edwin Snowe lauded President George Weah and his administration for providing an enabling environment for the resumption of Western Cluster operations in Bomi. “The Government has been very instrumental and magnanimous in making sure that the company resumes operation.”

Bomi County since the end days of the former Liberia Mining Company (LMC), the County has not had the opportunity for mining activities to return until Western Cluster entered an agreement with the Government of Liberia during the administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The company folded up due to the Ebola pandemic, and it had to take the negotiation skills of Bomi County Senator Edwin Snowe for it to return to Liberia and resume mining activities under the George Weah administration.