MONROVIA – The Liberia Petroleum Refining Company’s (LPRC) move to allegedly begin importing fuel, gasoline and other petroleum products, is causing a sweeping concern among licensed importers of the vital liquids. Some of these importers have described LPRC’s entrance as “illegal and a dangerous about of authority and a direct attack on private sector investment.”
This shift, executed without transparency or public accountability, marks a gross violation of the established understanding between the LPRC and licensed importers. Traditionally, and over so many years LPRC has been collecting storage fees and functioned as a regulatory and logistical support agency, ensuring the secure storage and coordination of petroleum products, not competing against the very private actors it has issued to licenses to import petroleum products.
The implications are chilling. This maneuver, if not urgently reversed, will displace hundreds of Liberian workers employed by private petroleum importers businesses that have sustained operations for years and have played a vital role in job creation across the country. Each of these importers reportedly supports a network of over 100 employees and contractors, many of whom are sole breadwinners for large families.
What’s more troubling are alleged reports of LPRC’s involvement in dealings with foreign entities that are either under international sanctions or known for financial irregularities. Should these allegations prove true, Liberia could be exposed to international penalties, diplomatic fallout, and irreparable damage to its financial credibility.
Even more concerning is the alleged covert financial involvement of individuals within LPRC’s leadership, reportedly connected to upcoming shipments of petroleum products, raising the specter of self-dealing, conflict of interest, and systemic corruption.
Financial institutions have also come under the spotlight. Reports suggest that at least one commercial bank like Ecobank bank may be financing this controversial petroleum venture, which would effectively make them accessories to a scheme that endangers jobs, violates business norms, and compromises national integrity and even fight against the very importers that are doing business with.
This situation is not business as usual.
It is a crisis of governance, a deliberate disruption of the private sector, and a potential breach of both domestic and international laws.
We therefore call for the following actions:
An immediate legislative inquiry into LPRC’s recent actions and their legality.
Urgent intervention from anti-corruption and financial oversight bodies to investigate all stakeholders involved.
A warning to financial institutions: be advised that your involvement in this matter could be interpreted as complicity in economic sabotage.
Action from civil society, labor unions, and media institutions to expose and resist this hostile takeover of a vital economic sector.
Liberians cannot afford silence when livelihoods are on the line. This is an economic ambush, calculated, coordinated, and catastrophic in its consequences if left unchecked.
