Monrovia-December 7, 2025: The Liberian Senate Joint Committee on Transport will on Monday, on the Capitol Constructing on Capitol Hill, conduct a serious public listening to into the controversial Concession and Entry Settlement between the Authorities of Liberia and Ivanhoe Liberia.
The choice follows a powerful communication from the Senate Transport Committee demanding proof that the settlement was negotiated consistent with the binding 2019 Liberia–Guinea Implementation Settlement.
The letter, signed by Senator Saah H. Joseph, Chair of the Joint Committee, raises deep questions concerning the credibility, legality, and diplomatic implications of the Ivanhoe deal and warns that Liberia dangers breaching worldwide obligations if the settlement proceeds with out correct verification.
Final week officers of the Ministry of Overseas Affairs and The Ministry of Justice Failed to provide clear responses on wherever the Ivanhoe Deal met all necessities laydown within the Liberian-Guinea Implementation settlement
Senate Cites Danger of Worldwide Violations
In an in depth correspondence to the Nationwide Funding Fee, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Transport dated November 12, 2025, the Senate Transport Committee emphasizes that compliance with the 2019 Implementation Settlement will not be elective.
The communication states: “Full adherence to this settlement will not be solely a matter of nationwide coverage but additionally a requirement of worldwide legislation.” Nevertheless, the Senate says proof means that key procedures required underneath the treaty had been by no means adopted throughout negotiations with Ivanhoe.
The Committee notes: “There are critical considerations that because the 2021 political transition in Guinea, the Authorities of Liberia has not taken the mandatory steps to formally interact the New Guinean authorities, reaffirm its dedication to the Implementation Settlement, or reactivate the joint committee’s central to its operation.”
Senators in session
Obligatory Guinea Approval Allegedly Ignored
One key problem raised by the Senate is that no cross-border concession involving rail use may be signed or ratified with out Guinea’s formal approval. The letter quotes the Implementation Settlement clearly: “No settlement shall be executed or ratified by both get together with out the formal approval or concurrence of the Authorities of Guinea.”
But the Ivanhoe settlement earlier than the Legislature reportedly lacks any verified communication exhibiting that Guinea permitted and even reviewed the deal. Implementation Settlement between Guinea and Liberian on which the Ivanhoe Deal was granted stresses harmonization as a key requirement — aligning each nations’ legal guidelines, customs procedures, and charge buildings to make sure clean, truthful operations.
Article 4.1 of the IA commits each governments to non-discriminatory remedy and equal entry for Guinean operators. Article 8.2–8.3 obliges Liberia and Guinea to harmonize laws and develop widespread entry pricing and security requirements.
But the CAA was drafted as a standalone business deal, with its personal charge schedule, tax regime, and operational framework — none of that are harmonized with Guinean legislation or topic to bilateral oversight.
By setting its personal entry charges, Liberia might have breached the uniform pricing precept the IA envisioned, making a precedent the place every authorities negotiates privately moderately than cooperatively.
