Liberia: CSOs Push Mining Law Overhaul, Stronger Anti-Corruption Measures

Monrovia — Civil society organizations are calling for sweeping reforms to Liberia’s mining laws and regulatory institutions, citing weak enforcement, corruption, inadequate beneficial-ownership disclosure and limited community participation as major challenges confronting the sector.

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By Francis G. Boayue

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The call was made Thursday, October 1 during a Civil Society and Local Communities Roundtable on Mining and Inclusive Sustainable Development organized by the CSO Consortium on Mining in Monrovia.

The one-day engagement brought together civil society organizations and representatives of mining-affected communities to identify governance gaps and develop concrete recommendations for reforms in Liberia’s mining sector.

The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), Executive Director, Anderson Miamen, said Liberia needs stronger laws and institutions capable of enforcing them if the country is to derive sustainable benefits from its mineral resources.

Miamen identified weak enforcement of existing mining laws, bribery, underreporting and limited transparency over beneficial ownership as some of the sector’s major challenges.

He said the mere existence of laws does not guarantee accountability when regulatory institutions lack the capacity and mechanisms to enforce them.

Miamen urged the government to review and amend Liberia’s mining laws to reflect current realities, particularly as the country seeks to expand mining activities and attract additional investment.

CENTAL is also calling for stronger anti-corruption mechanisms and checks and balances around mining-sector decision-making, financial transactions and regulatory processes.

Miamen further advocated for the establishment of a dedicated anti-corruption court, arguing that such an institution could strengthen the prosecution of corruption and complex economic and financial crimes.

The organization is also proposing an inclusive community monitoring mechanism that would give mining-affected communities a formal role in monitoring mining operations and reporting concerns involving land, livelihoods and environmental impacts.

The demands emerged as civil society groups and community representatives examined broader concerns surrounding who benefits from mining, how revenues are managed and whether affected communities receive adequate economic and social benefits.

Loretta Alethea Pope Kai of the Sustainable Environment and Economic Development (SEED) said the roundtable was intended to provide a platform for stakeholders to examine challenges confronting mining communities and develop practical proposals for reform.

She said the process would also enable civil society organizations to establish a collective advocacy agenda before, during and after the Liberia Mining, Mines and Energy Conference.

Among the issues discussed were economic opportunities for mining-affected communities, protection against gender-based violence, access to justice, effective remedies, accountability and governance.

“As civil society, we are not just here to identify the problems in Liberia’s mining sector, but to build a common evidence-based agenda for the reforms needed to make mining work better for Liberia and its people,” Pope Kai said.

Silas Kpanan Ayoung Siakor of the Institute for Development Law (IDL) urged participants to move beyond broad debates about the merits or shortcomings of mining and instead identify specific weaknesses requiring government action.

He said civil society should leave the engagement with a clear understanding of the problems within the sector, the reforms required, and the actions government should take.

“If we take advantage of this opportunity, we then have the position to be the first to go to the government and say we would like to see A, B, C, D change in the sector,” Siakor said.

The reform discussions come amid efforts by Liberia to increase revenue, investment and community benefits from its mineral resources.

In August 2026, the Ministry of Mines and Energy convened stakeholders to discuss implementation of a US$5 million annual Community Development Fund under ArcelorMittal Liberia’s Third Mineral Development Agreement.

Civil society actors, however, say such initiatives will require effective monitoring, transparency and meaningful community participation to ensure that mining benefits reach affected communities.

The Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s 2026 work plan also includes activities related to contract transparency, beneficial ownership, anti-corruption, extractive-sector reporting and public disclosure of revenues.

The roundtable’s recommendations are expected to form the basis for sustained civil society advocacy for legal and institutional reforms aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability and community participation in Liberia’s mining governance.