By Cllr. Kanio Bai Gbala
Assistant Professor of Law, Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law
Executive Chairperson, Liberia Political Centrism Movement
As Liberia moves closer to the revitalization of the Putu iron ore project, there is a renewed sense of optimism across Grand Gedeh County and the broader southeastern region. The promise of economic activity, infrastructure development, and employment opportunities has rightly captured national attention. The Government, under the leadership of President Joseph Nyumah Boakai and Vice President Jeremiah Kpang Koung, deserves commendation for advancing efforts to unlock this long-dormant national asset.
However, as we celebrate this important step forward, it is imperative that we broaden our understanding of what meaningful local participation truly entails.
Too often, public discourse around large-scale concessions such as Putu is narrowly framed around direct employment opportunities. While jobs are important, the reality is that modern mining operations are highly mechanized and capital-intensive. This inevitably limits the number of direct jobs available to local communities. If our development strategy stops at employment, we risk leaving many citizens as passive observers in an economy operating within their own backyard.
The more sustainable and transformative pathway lies in deliberately opening access to ancillary business opportunities.
Mining operations depend on a wide ecosystem of support services. These include, but are not limited to:
* Trucking and haulage services
* Fuel and petroleum supply
* Environmental compliance and monitoring services
* Logistics and supply chain operations
* Catering, accommodation, and facility management
* Equipment leasing and maintenance
These sectors collectively represent millions of dollars in recurring contracts over the life of the concession. The critical question therefore is: Who will benefit from these opportunities?
If left unstructured, there is a real risk that external actors—often better capitalized and more organized—will dominate these spaces. This would result in a familiar and unfortunate pattern: resources extracted locally, but value captured elsewhere. To avoid this outcome, there must be intentional policy and contractual safeguards that prioritize local enterprise participation.
First, the concession framework should incorporate clear local content provisions that go beyond employment quotas and extend into procurement obligations. A defined percentage of ancillary contracts should be reserved for businesses owned by citizens of Grand Gedeh and the southeastern region, with transparent criteria and enforcement mechanisms.
Second, there must be capacity-building support. Local entrepreneurs cannot compete effectively without access to finance, technical training, and organizational development. Government, in partnership with the concessionaire and development partners, should establish targeted programs to prepare local businesses to meet industry standards.
Third, we must promote consortia models, where local businesses can pool resources and expertise to bid competitively for larger contracts. This approach reduces fragmentation and strengthens local bargaining power.
Fourth, transparency must be non-negotiable. The awarding of contracts should be subject to open, competitive, and publicly disclosed processes, ensuring fairness and accountability.
It is equally important that Grand Gedeh’s elected representatives keep their eyes firmly on the ball, ensuring that the interests of their constituents are not sidelined in the structuring and implementation of these opportunities. Representation must translate into vigilance, advocacy, and tangible economic outcomes for the people.
It is important to emphasize that this is not a call for exclusion, but for balanced inclusion. Foreign investment and expertise remain essential. However, they must operate within a framework that deliberately creates space for local participation and long-term wealth creation.
In this regard, I respectfully urge the Government—while continuing its commendable efforts—to ensure that the Putu concession becomes a model of inclusive economic governance. The true measure of success will not be the volume of ore exported, but the extent to which local communities are economically empowered.
For the people of Grand Gedeh and the southeastern counties, the promise of Putu must go beyond wages. It must translate into business ownership, enterprise growth, and generational wealth. Anything less would be a missed opportunity of historic proportions.
