Monrovia, Liberia Tuesday, January 16, 2024: The Multi-Stakeholder Steering Group (MSG) of the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) in March 2023 commissioned the production of the 15^th EITI Report for Liberia covering the fiscal period July 1, 2021, to December 31, 2022, under the traditional reconciliation framework. The 15^th Report is the first reconciled report post-Covid. The Report captures 21 in-scope companies across three of the four covered sectors and ten government institutions.

LEITI MSG, at the start of March 2023, hired the services of Parker & Associates LLC in collaboration with BDO-UK to produce Liberia's 15^th EITI Report. The Report includes contextual information about the extractive industries under EITI Requirements 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. These pieces of information include a summary description of the legal framework and fiscal regime, an overview of the extractive sector, Beneficial Ownership Disclosure, Contract Transparency, the extractive industries' contribution to the economy, production and exports data, the State's shareholding in extractive entities, revenue allocations, license registers, and license allocations.

Total revenues from the extractive sector amounted to USD 182.35 million from July 1, 2021, to December 31, 2022. The extractive sector's contribution to the Government's domestic revenue envelope accounts for 17.16% for the period under review.

The period's top contributors to Government revenue were Arcelor Mittal Liberia Limited, Bea Mountain Mining Company, and Firestone Liberia Incorporated, contributing 78 million, 37 million, and 17 million, respectively, to total Government revenue for the period.

Also, during this period, extractive companies' social and environmental expenditures amounted to USD34 million, of which mandatory social spending amounted to USD 28 million, voluntary social expenditure amounted to USD 5 million, and environmental mandatory expenses and voluntary environmental expenditures amounted to USD 1 million each.

Further review of the Report shows that during the period, gold production stood at Fourteen thousand ninety-two kilograms (14,092 kg), iron ore production was Six Million Eight Hundred Fifty-Two Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety-Nine metric tons (6,852,999 metric tons), while diamond production stood at Eighty-Seven Thousand Seven Hundred Thirty-Two carats (87,732 carats), with round logs production at Two Hundred Sixty-Three Thousand Three Hundred Twenty-Three cubic meters (263,323 cubic meters). Also, rubber production was One Hundred Twenty-Nine Thousand Four Hundred Seventeen tons (129,417 tons), and crude palm oil production was Fifty-Three Thousand Nine Hundred Forty metric tons (53,940 metric tons).

Meanwhile, the value of exports from the mining, forestry, and agriculture sectors amounted to One Billion Four Hundred Seventy-Two Million United States Dollars (USD 1.472 billion), accounting for 99.23% of the total exports of the Country during the period. Bea Mountain Mining Corporation contributed to Liberia's exports with 48%, followed by Arcelor Mittal with 40% and MNG Gold with 9%.

The report indicates that 12,017 people were employed in the mining, agriculture, and forestry sectors in 2022, representing 0.50% of the country's labor force, with 21% of the 12,017 being female workers.

Liberia has taken a significant step towards transparency in company ownership with the launch of its new BO register. The register aims to help increase accountability in the Country's business sector, strengthen domestic resource mobilization, and reduce risks of money laundering, corruption, and other financial or environmental crimes. The new digital beneficial ownership register was launched on September 29, 2023. The full register will be available in March 2024, when companies can start making their BO declarations.

The new digital BO register is part of Liberia's work to promote transparency and accountability and ensure that the benefits of its industries are fairly shared among all citizens. It is also part of the Country's broader effort to leverage digital technology to automate, streamline, and improve efficiencies in delivering critical Government-to-business services, including business registration. The register launch marks a pivotal moment, signaling the Country's dedication to good governance and responsible business practices as it seeks to attract and bolster private sector investment.

At the same time, while efforts are underway to formalize the artisanal mining sector, the LEITI has taken a significant step in the summarization of the environmental and social standards laws for the Artisanal and small-scale mining sector of Liberia to help sector actors understand and comply with environmental and social requirements relative to artisanal mining. Supported by the GIZ, the report will also be approved and launched by the MSG today. Upon approval and launch, the report will be disseminated across nine of the fifteen Counties in Liberia in the coming months.

While the LEITI continues to make headways, the institution still faces reporting challenges. Some government institutions and companies deliberately refuse to provide requested extractive sector information during the production of the Report. Consequently, the MSG has mandated the Secretariat to bring into force the Body's Regulations 001 during and after the production of Liberia's 16^th EITI Report, which will take the country to its next validation. By this, the Secretariat will extract from the final 16th EITI Report all delinquent government institutions and companies and publicly name and shame them. The MSG believes this will ensure compliance and adherence to EITI implementation in the country.

With today's approval and launch, the Report is now set to be disseminated nationwide to discuss the findings with the citizens and solicit feedback on improving the extractive sector's governance. It is also open to the media for further interpretation and dissemination through your various outlets.

At this point, I want to sincerely thank my hardworking and committed colleagues at the MSG for their collaboration and coordination over the past six years. I also want to thank the leadership and staff at the LEITI Secretariat for their dedication. You guys have shown that Liberia has professionals who can positively shift the Country's development paradigm. Please continue to do so. To the media, you guys have always stood by us, and we will continue to count on you to provide our people with relevant information.

Finally, on behalf of the MSG and LEITI Secretariat, I want to extend my most profound appreciation to the Government of Liberia for making the funding available for this Report. This shows the Government's unwavering support for enhancing transparency and accountability in the extractive sector. Let me assure all stakeholders that LEITI will continue to play its role in ensuring that Liberians benefit from their abundant extractive resources. Thank you very much, and Happy New Year!

Signed: ____________________________________

                C. Mike Doryen

              CHAIRMAN, LEITI MSG