MONROVIA, LIBERIA-The Liberia Extractive Transparency Initiative (LEITI) has launched its 16th Country Report in Monrovia.
The launch was followed by a unanimous vote by members of the Multi-Stakeholders Group (MSG) to release the Report.
According to a release, the Report was launched by the Chairman of the MSG of LEITI, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Matenokay Tingban, after stakeholders’ consultations and discussions.
Minister Tingban said,” The County Report marks another milestone in Liberia’s efforts to strengthen transparency and accountability in the country’s natural resources sector”.
During the meeting, the Head of Secretariat of LEITI, Jeffrey Yates, presented the newly developed LEITI Data Portal and the updated Simplified Contract Matrix intended to enhance public access to information and strengthen oversight of the extractive industry.
The Report reveals that Extractive Sector revenues received by the Government of Liberia from January 1 to December 31, 2023, amounted to 152.46 million US Dollars.
It said that the mining sector remained the dominant contributor with 121.49 million US Dollars, followed by Agriculture at 23.97 million.
Meanwhile, the Forestry Sector accounted for 6.45 million, while the Oil and Gas Sector stood at 550 thousand US Dollars.
At the same time, the Report revealed that export values for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2023, amounted to 1.35 million USD, driven largely by gold, iron ore, diamonds, rubber, and crude palm oil.
It said gold led the Sector with exports valued at 660.34 million, while iron ore exports totaled 482.7 million, diamonds at 17.91 million, and rubber stood at 103 million USD.
The Report highlighted Bea Mountain’s gold export value of 691.25 million, Western Cluster’s iron ore exports totaled 271.05 million US Dollars.
On the issue of employment, the Report documents over 19 thousand jobs across the Extractive Sector in 2023, and of that number, over 16 thousand were male and 2,743 female.
It also notes that Bea Mountain had 1,110 permanent foreign employees during the reporting year.
Meanwhile, the Mult-Stakeholders Group has instructed the Secretariat to forward concerns in the Report to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission 9LACC) for investigation.