The International Finance Corporation said in a second management progress report released Feb. 6 that Salala Rubber Corporation has advanced implementation of a multiyear Management Action Plan (MAP) tied to the company’s past operations in Liberia, and that security at the plantation has “stabilized” following violent unrest in 2024.
The update — the IFC’s second on MAP implementation following a June 2025 progress note — outlines ongoing work to deliver remedial and preventative measures across gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH), community development, grievance handling, land and cultural heritage remediation, water monitoring and labor rights compliance.
IFC noted its original $10 million loan to SRC in 2008 supported rehabilitation and expansion of the plantation. That loan was repaid in full in March 2020.
Socfin, SRC’s prior owner, sold the company to Liberian firm Jeety Rubber LLC in August 2024.
The report says the security environment “appears to have stabilized in recent months” after violent protests on June 27, 2024, that involved looting, threats and damage to company property. IFC warns, however, that safety remains a “primary concern” and that it will continue to monitor volatile local conditions as it advances MAP work.
The MAP — approved by the IFC Board on March 13, 2025 — sets out a package of project level actions, many with delivery targets in 2025 and 2027.
Among commitments are: revised GBVH policies, an independent grievance mechanism and referral pathways (targeted March 2025); a timebound community development program focused on women’s economic empowerment and sexual and reproductive health (planning 2025, implementation through 2027); retroactive crop compensation and a participatory retroactive resettlement action plan aligned with IFC performance standards; a participatory water monitoring program and potable water access plans; an inventory and mitigation plan for impacts to ancestral graves and sacred sites; and a review of labor and working conditions for PS2 compliance.
The IFC said it has been reviewing SRC policies and practices, providing recommendations, and coordinating with local stakeholders and potential implementing partners.
The Bank indicated it remains “actively engaged” to identify local relationships and implementation approaches consistent with IFC policy.
Socfin repaid the IFC loan in 2020 and then sold Salala to a local rubber processing company, Jeety Rubber, in 2024.
The company’s new owner – Indian businessman Upjit Singh Sachdeva has made a raft of interventions since acquiring SRC: rehabilitation of schools and a new senior high classroom, daily school meals and a 24-seat school bus, clinic restocking and lab diagnostics, a renovation and building of modern housing, installation of boreholes and tap water systems, and 58 solar streetlights across 56 communities and direct interaction with communities.
Beyond modern infrastructure there’s also labor changes: formalizing the employment of roughly 120 cup washers with “substantially improved pay and regular hours,” rehiring roughly 900 workers, cancelling punitive interest on salary advances, and implementing a bonus system developed after consultation. The company says 120 homes have been completed and larger housing program executed.
