Margibians Reject Firestone Concession Agreement
By: Lewis K. Glay
Forum
Monrovia, Liberia
Distributed by
The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
In a strongly worded petition statement recently presented to the National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA) at the Capitol, the citizens called on the lawmakers not to ratify the Firestone agreement based on several reasons.
The statement, which was read by former Margibi Senator, Bedell Fahn, noted that the agreement was not in the interest of the citizens of Margibi and Liberians at large.
The statement also recalled Firestone’s past treatment of its workers with specific reference to health, housing facilities, as well as low educational facilities for inhabitants of the confessional area over the years.
According to the petition, the mandate of the NTGL under the CPA does not allow Chairman Gyude Bryant to commit Liberia under such a long term agreement as the NTGL is only to set the pace for elections.
The statement therefore called on the NTLA to halt the ratification until an elected government comes into being and constitute a committee to revisit the agreement with the mandate to correct the clause that characterized the agreement.
Receiving the petition on behalf of the NTLA, assemblyman Thomas Nah Nimely thanked the citizens and vowed to convey their petition to the assembly for deliberation.
