By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor in Monrovia
Liberia’s Mines and Energy Minister Gaster Murray says Liberia lacks qualified engineers and technocrats that should have handled the electricity sector and other technical areas of the country.
Minister Murray told the media in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County Monday, March 4, during the launched for the payment of compensations to the Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea or TRANSCO-CLSG project affected persons, saying that the cross border electricity construction contract could not have been given to Liberians due to the lack of qualified Liberians in that area and lack of adequate funding.
During the launched, reporters observed that the construction of the electricity which is currently in some parts of Grand Gedeh, Nimba and Grand Bassa Counties are being hugely undertaken by foreigners, mainly Chinese and Indians.
Justifying the action further, Minister Murray said that international partners are providing the funding and they want international best standards which Liberians cannot march the foreigners.
According to him, in some of the contracts, contractors have to spend about US$50 million before donors give a cent, something Liberians cannot afford.
But the statement of the minister seems to be undermining the President George Manneh Weah’s pro-poor program, which prioritizes Liberians and not to be spectators in their economy.
Quizzed on what percent of Liberians in the deal, Murray struggled for minutes, and then responded that he does not know the percent nor the total number of Liberians hired for the construction of the electricity here.
Meanwhile, the General Manager of TRANSCO CLSG, Mohammed Sherif says the regional transmission company will work in collaboration with the Liberian government and settle more than 300 people are affected by the construction of the transmission line. He said the are being compensated through a transparent process for the loss of their properties, including farmlands, which are within the transmission line and substation corridors.
The compensation process gives way for the construction of a 1303 kilometer transmission line from Cote d’Ivoire through Liberia, Sierra Leone and to Guinea.
“Following the RAP process, TRANSCO CLSG will acquire the project 40 kilometer corridor and sites and turn them over to the contractors who are waiting to jumpstart construction of the transmission line and substations across the CLSG countries,” he said.
Sheriff noted that for the specific case of Liberia, the CLSG project involves the construction of approximately 530km of 225kv power line through seven counties including, Nimba, Bong, Grand Bassa, Margibi, Montserrado, Bomi and Grand Cape Mount.
Meanwhile, Sherif has said that the donors of the CLSG project, including the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank and the KfW the German Development Bank, have reaffirmed their unwavering support to the successful implementation of the CLSG project
