Monrovia – The Liberia Petroleum Refining Firm (LPRC) has strongly denied allegations of focusing on petroleum importers, together with Srimex Oil and Fuel, amid latest tensions over regulatory enforcement actions.
By J.H. Webster Clayeh (0886729972) – [email protected]
Talking over the weekend throughout a donation train to the At-risk Youths Momentary Holding Heart in Johnsonville, the Deputy Managing Director for Administration on the LPRC, Jocab Smith, clarified that the company’s actions are strictly regulatory and never politically motivated.
“We have now no inclination to witch-hunt anyone. We don’t have any political aims within the selections that we make,” Smith advised reporters. “Our position is to control the petroleum sector to make sure order, transparency, and compliance with the legal guidelines of Liberia.”
The clarification comes after studies surfaced of a standoff between LPRC and Srimex Oil and Fuel, an organization owned by businessman turned politician Musa Bility. In keeping with accounts, LPRC administration quickly shut down Srimex’s terminals as a result of alleged unpaid taxes and failure to adjust to newly launched tariff laws.
Sources indicated that LPRC personnel tried to implement the brand new tariffs by assigning brokers to the Srimex terminal. Nevertheless, Bility reportedly denied them entry, prompting the LPRC to lock down the power. In response, Bility accused the regulatory physique of obstructing his firm’s operations unjustly.
“They are saying they got here to implement their new tariff. I advised them we have already got a billing system in place. Why are they obstructing our operations?” Bility mentioned in an interview. “They’ve all of our vans outdoors. We’ll go to court docket.”
Addressing the incident, Mr. Smith confirmed that the Srimex terminal was quickly closed however reopened the identical day after the corporate agreed to adjust to LPRC’s monitoring protocols.
“One of many importers refused to permit our brokers on the premises. With out our brokers, we’ve no manner of figuring out the inflows and outflows of merchandise. So, primarily based on that, we took the choice to quickly shut the entity till the problem was resolved,” he defined.
Smith additionally disclosed that Srimex was not the one importer affected. One other petroleum importer, Cornex, confronted related enforcement measures however rapidly complied after a dialogue with LPRC.
“It’s not about Srimex or Cornex; it’s about guaranteeing everybody within the sector is in compliance. We can’t dwell in a chaotic society. The regulation is the regulation, and nobody is above it,” Smith added.
He emphasised that LPRC stays dedicated to regulating the sector pretty and transparently, with out worry or favor.
“We’re going to do our job—firmly, responsibly, and with out malice. That’s the solely manner we will construct a functioning and accountable petroleum sector in Liberia,” he concluded.
