VZCZCXYZ0010
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMV #0122/01 0281524
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281521Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY MONROVIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0013
INFO RUEHMV/AMEMBASSY MONROVIA

UNCLAS MONROVIA 000122 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID ECON EFIN EMIN LI
SUBJECT: THIS, TOO, IS LIBERIA: JANUARY 28, 2010 
 
¶1. (U) This round-up cable, named after a popular daily feature in 
a local newspaper, covers the following topics: 
 
--  APM Terminals Tapped to Manage Monrovia Port 
 
--  BHP Billiton and Arcelor Mittal Form Cross-Border Partnership 
 
--  Liberia Hires Private Firm to Recover Taylor-Era Assets 
 
--  Ministry of Planning to Deliver Delayed HIPC Audits 
 
--  Ambassador Visits Mt. Coffee 
 
--  US-Liberia Aviation Partnership Garners Media Attention 
 
--  Liberian Deportees Return January 27 
 
--  Ambassador Signs Self-Help Agreements 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) APM Terminals Tapped to Manage Monrovia Port:  The Port 
Sector Reform Program (PSRP) has selected APM Terminals, the port 
management arm of Maersk, to manage the Freeport of Monrovia 
following a competitive bidding process.  Patrick Sendolo, head of 
the PSRP, told Econoff on January 20 that the Inter-Ministerial 
Concession Committee (IMCC) will meet to approve the concession on 
January 28, and will make a subsequent public announcement. 
 
¶3. (SBU) BHP Billiton and Arcelor Mittal Form Cross-Border 
Partnership:  BHP Billiton (BHPB) Guinea Country Manager Rainer 
Engels told Ambassador on January 26 that BHPB and Arcelor Mittal 
the two companies plan to establish a joint venture along 12 miles 
of the Guinea-Liberia border to connect their iron ore assets and 
achieve economies of scale.  Seventeen kilometers of railway in 
Guinea and northern Liberia will be constructed to connect BHPB's 
mines to Arcelor's 250-kilometer railway to the Liberian port of 
Buchanan.  Although proposals exist for a 1,000-km trans-Guinean 
railroad that would connect BHPB mines to the port in Conakry, 
Engels said Guinea's current transportation networks preclude use 
of this route. 
 
4: (SBU) Liberia Hires Private Firm to Recover Taylor-Era Assets: 
President Sirleaf has hired former U.N. Panel of Experts member Tom 
Creal to help recover an estimated $3 billion held in overseas 
accounts held by former affiliates of Charles Taylor.  As a panel 
expert, Creal, a forensic accountant, tracked the assets of 
designated individuals and worked with foreign banks to freeze 
their assets.  Creal told Ambassador on January 20 that he 
anticipates some designated individuals may return hidden assets in 
exchange for exemption from future prosecution (either in Liberian, 
or preferably, U.S. courts).  As a condition of assisting the GOL, 
Creal has insisted that any recovered assets be placed into a 
development trust fund with resources to be managed by an 
international advisory board. 
 
 
 
5: (SBU) Ministry of Planning to Deliver Delayed HIPC Audits: 
Liberia hopes to reach HIPC Completion Point in May or June 2010. 
The IMF Resident Representative told Econoff on January 20 that he 
met with the GOL's General Auditing Commission (GAC) on January 20 
to convey the IMF's strong dissatisfaction with the pace of 
HIPC-mandated audits.  The GAC is charged with public financial 
management review of five key ministries (Finance, Education, 
Planning, Public Works, and Lands, Mines and Energy), but Auditor 
General John Morlu complains some ministers have failed to 
cooperate, fearing what the audits might reveal.  However, other 
ministers, notably Minister of Finance Augustine Ngafuan, claim 
that Morlu's combative approach and refusal to cooperate with 
interagency working groups has delayed the process.  On January 21, 
the President charged Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs 
Amara Konneh with steering his fellow ministers and delivering the 
HIPC audits by March. 
 
 
 
6: (U) Ambassador Visits Mt. Coffee:  The Ambassador toured the Mt. 
Coffee hydroelectric facility on January 21 with two engineers from 
the Liberian Electricity Corporation (LEC) and a delegation from 
the Embassy.  During a full-day visit to the powerhouse, dam and 
spillway, LEC Manager Henry Lewis explained that renovations of 
around $165 million would be required to restore the 64-Megawatt 
facility to its pre-war capacity. 
 
7: (U) US-Liberia Aviation Partnership Garners Media Attention: 
The Monocle, a British monthly global-issues magazine, accompanied 
the Transportation Security Administration's ASSIST team during a 
January 18-22 profile of USG technical assistance to Roberts 
 
International Airport. The article, to appear in the March issue, 
will highlight efforts to secure direct flights between the U.S. 
and Liberia, and the benefits such flights that could accrue to 
Liberia, both in terms of foreign investment and tourism. 
 
¶8. (U) Liberian Deportees Return January 27:  Twenty-one Liberians 
arrived January 27 on a DHS charter flight following deportation 
from the U.S. for criminal behavior.  According to press accounts, 
the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (BIN) plans to release 
the deportees to their families upon arrival, rather than 
imprisoning them like previous deportees from the U.S.  A GOL 
moratorium on further mass deportations remains in place for the 
moment. 
 
¶9. (U) Ambassador Signs Self-Help Agreements:  The Ambassador 
signed agreements on January 27 with 12 communities totaling 
$60,000 in Self-Help Projects.  The projects involve agriculture, 
income-generation, education and health and are located in six of 
Liberia's 15 counties. 
THOMAS-GREENFIELD