By D. Wa Hne, Jr.
Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company, just like other public corporations, has been flooded unimposingly by massive demonstration of Executive Powers. Appointed officials have been usually stuck -whether they are professionals or unprofessional- in the quicksand of presidential directives-written or verbal-and have to save themselves by yielding to save their jobs.
Saddest of all is that these public corporations are economic and social lifelines of the people, yet the people, or their representatives, have less control over how these corporations are run.
From time to time, and, from one administration to another, this has been the pattern which has taken a cultural form and is, more traditional, and acceptably, more constitutional.
And so, there is nothing illegal about it, and there is less anyone can do about it, except the Executive Branch pledges a reform that brings public corporations under legislative accounting lenses by allowing officials of public corporations to go through confirmation and report directly to the Legislature. Critics of the Legislature would also argue that the Legislature itself needs self-redemption.
So, any part of this article should not be categoric as an inference on any exclusive policy, action or activity of, or, an indictment of President Joseph Nyumah Boakai or the management team of the institution that is under this spotlight, but as a plain fact on how public corporations have been and continue to function.
Public corporations are businesslike entities that are backbones of the national economy and cater to social development but propel largely by political considerations or decisions. So, unlike multinational corporations and other private sector investments, they do not operate on critical business principles, nor participate in global competitions that have to do with reinvestments, profits, shareholders votes and growth.
Some analysts presumed that these corporations can never come under the control of the people through legislative screening of nominated officials as other presidential appointees, nor would they be allowed to report directly to the First Branch because that’s where presidents get their easy loot or enrichment. In other words, they can never be free of corruption and administrative inefficiencies as well as operational weaknesses.
Public corporations are tales of corruption in Liberia, mismanagement, foul contracts, loss of substantial unaccounted-for-revenues, and very low or no new investments to increase productivity, earnings, and modernized infrastructure to meet competing global demands.
A PEEP INTO LPRC
The Liberia Petroleum Refining Company is one of such corporations. It started as a private sector company established by two American firms named Sun Oil Company and Dyne electron under the corporate name of LRC between 1969 and 1970. It operated for about eight years. It was built on purely business principles.
At the time of its establishment, the two firms were likely a part of a consortium exploring the possibility of discovering oil in Liberia and expected positive results that would have given LRC leverage to champion the marketing of crude oil and refined products on West African markets and beyond.
Already the LRC was supplying Petroleum locally and surplus were exported. Unfortunately, in the mid- 1970s, the refinery was gutted by fire followed by doubtful success in the exploration exercise, leaving the American firms to pull out as reinvestment to repair the damages were too expensive and hopes of crude oil exploration did not yield encouraging signs.
The Liberian Government bought the assets of the Company around 1978 and renamed it LPRC.
At the time of refining, the LRC was marketing nationally and internationally jet fuel, fuel oil, kerosene, diesel and asphalt for roads pavement. Its quality of leadership was in line with business operating principles far free from political interventions and patronage that would dis-allow professional and technical knowhows. There were high economic values and returns attached alongside with increasing diplomatic influences for Liberia.
After Government purchase, LPRC went into the importation of petroleum and products to meet local demands and demands of neighboring countries. Its leadership or management style changed, and political interventions took control thereby gradually departing from professionalism and business principles which subsequently led to lack of propriety, inefficiencies, corruption and low maintenance culture. Having been high jacked by patronage, technical knowhow became secondary with a creep in of managerial deficiencies.
The LPRC continued with the importation of petroleum and products and marketing same internally, while seeking to restore to original state its capacity to refine. Importation continued up to, and after, the coup that brought Samuel Doe to power.
Under, and after the PRC, restoration was being worked on. Unfortunately, officials were engaged into sales of important parts of the refinery. The Plutonium was sold, leading to investigation and the dismissal of the then deputy managing director for Operations.
Moreover, and unfortunately, political crisis and sanctions began sweeping across the nation and Liberia.
