By Nathan N. Mulbah
It is a foregone conclusion that the inclusion of railway transportation as a major component in Liberia’s transport sector has the potential of serving as a key driver in national development on the one hand while effectively influencing the economic, social and environmental landscape of the Motherland.
Railway track engineering is indeed the backbone of any railway network, literally providing the foundation for safe, reliable and efficient rail transportation. Ivanhoe Atlantic has concluded a deal to do the rail assessment and start work on the rail.
Noticeably, Liberia is on the verge of harnessing the full potential of its railway transportation sector with the establishment of the Liberia National Railway Authority (LNRA).
The establishment of the LNRA is being made possible following the issuance of Executive Order 136 by President Joseph N. Boakai. Executive Order Number 136, among other things says the establishment of the LNRA is aimed at enhancing the country’s rail infrastructure and is tasked with developing policies and governance rules for managing Liberia’s rail assets, ensuring equitable access for all stakeholders. The Executive Order No. 136 emphasizes a multiuser rail regime, allowing multiple companies to access Liberia’s railway which is a national asset.
By the content of Executive Order No. 136, the LNRA will be responsible for the appointment of Rail Regulators, staffing and leadership while at the same time implementing a Multiuser Rail Regime.
Implementation of the LNRA regime will eventually lead to the transformation of Liberia’s railway sector, holding all things constant. The LNRA establishment is coming on the heels of tough negotiations between the ArcelorMittal Liberia, High Power Exploration (HPX), Ivanhoe Atlantic and the Liberian government with strong support of the United States of America government. It is estimated that the deal has the potential of raising revenue in the tone of about US$1.6 billion.
Now that the big companies have negotiated with the Liberian government in the realization of this fate, we are passionately suggesting to the LNRA that in its attempt to derive the relevant policies for the governance of the railway sector, it should consider a provision that will allow ordinary citizens to also have access to the utilization of the railway running from Mount Tokadeh in Yekepa to Buchanan port in Grand Bassa and from Guinea to Liberia.
“Yours Truly” wishes to suggest that as part of the multiuser railway policies, there should be provisions that will allow the local people to also be able to ferry their agriculture and other commercial products via the railway. This, in my mind, will be cheap and cost effective
The new railway policy should at all times be imbued with clauses that will allow multiple companies, miners, agricultural exporters, passenger services, local dwellers, ordinary citizens and other commercial actors to use the same railway under transparent rules and fair access terms.
Worth stressing here is the fact that for far too long Liberians have helplessly sat by and watched big multinational companies explore and exploit the country’s natural resources, especially iron ore, using railway track ostensibly for the exportation of natural resources while the citizens were denied of using the railway to ferry their farm products and other commercial goods to help stimulate economic growth and national development. It is ardently hope that with the dawn of the new multiuser railway deal now in vogue, the story will be different going forward.
In hindsight, we can recount the horrible accounts of what obtained following LIMINCO mining operations in Bomi County, LAMCO mining operations in Nimba County and the Bong Mining Companies (BMC) iron ore mining operations in Bong County.
In the three unfortunate instances the mining companies were the single user on those railway tracks. So, while the foreign companies were ferrying our precious natural resources for cheap, agriculture products grown in the catchment areas of the mines were left to rot.
Goods and other commercial products were very expensive owing to high transportation fare because ordinary citizens were forbidden from using the railway for transportation purposes. Now that the new deal will allow multiusers including those who will be ferrying other goods and agriculture products, we can safely say, at long last, we are gradually getting on the trajectory to economic growth and national development.
The use of railway for the conveyance of farm produce is being done in country like Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, and Ghana right here in West Africa and this has contributed immensely to ensuring food security in those countries.
For example, the railway in Ivory Coast plays a crucial role in the conveyance of agricultural products on the Ivorian market, especially in city centers. It facilitates the transportation of agricultural products such as cocoa, coffee, and cotton, which are vital to the Ivoirian economies. And the Ivorian people are easily transported from one part of the country to an another for a manageable transportation cost.
Burkina-Faso and Ghana also allow the railway for multiuser, and the result is indeed phenomenal and is playing a crucial role in ensuring agricultural products and other commodities are conveyed to various points across the two countries, thus contributing to economic growth and development in those countries.
Given the germane role that railways play in bringing about economic growth, food security and national development, we call on the Liberia National Railway Authority to design policies that will allow Liberian nationals to ferry their farm products and other commercial products using the railway.
