Integrity Watch Liberia with support from the government of Ireland through Irish Aid, has provided training for lawmakers on a new Standardized Scoring Framework that will better position them to scrutinize concession and mineral development agreements for the benefit of the country.
The framework provides a clear, objective, and evidence-based tool enabling Parliament to evaluate agreements across legal compliance, fiscal terms, environmental protection, local content, and human rights.
The training workshop at the Cape Hotel in Mamba Point convened legislators from the Senate and House committees on Concessions and Investment, Ways, Means and Finance, Judiciary, the APNIFFT Liberia Caucus, civil society, development partners, and technical experts from the Tax Justice Network Africa.
The framework assigns measurable scores to critical dimensions, mandates financial modeling, Environmental and Social Impact Assessments, and climate safeguards, and aligns Liberia with global standards such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the Africa Mining Vision.
IWL Executive Director Harold Aidoo said the tool strengthens legislative oversight and protects the national interest. Participants recommended institutionalizing the framework, applying it immediately to current agreements including the HPX agreement and a Production Sharing Contract, and establishing a technical secretariat to provide continuous analytical support.
Ambassador Gerald Considine of Ireland praised the initiative as pivotal for governance reform.
Lawmakers described the framework as transformative, evidence-based, and essential to safeguarding environmental and intergenerational interests.
Integrity Watch Liberia will facilitate technical working sessions with committees and support the establishment of a technical secretariat to ensure consistent application of the scoring framework.
Liberia is endowed with natural resources.  Earlier this year the government announced it has deposits of critical minerals including lithium, manganese, cobalt and neodymium that it hopes will attract $3 billion of investment.
