52ND LIBERIAN LEGISLATURE CONCLUDES FOURTH SESSION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MONROVIA 000802 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W AND DRL E.O.12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI LI SUBJECT: 52ND LIBERIAN LEGISLATURE CONCLUDES FOURTH SESSION REF: A) 08 MONROVIA 817 B) MONROVIA 169 C) MONROVIA 495 D) MONROVIA 532 E) MONROVIA 570 F) MONROVIA 612 G) MONROVIA 628 H) MONROVIA 695 I) MONROVIA 763 J) MONROVIA 776 K) MONROVIA 786 L) MONROVIA 602 SENSTIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. ¶1. (U) SUMMARY. The 52nd National Legislature has concluded its fourth session, recessing until the fifth session begins in January ¶2010. Despite the fact that several key laws were passed and concession agreements ratified, the Legislature failed to pass crucial measures related to meeting Liberia's highly indebted poor countries (HIPC) initiative Completion Point, a code of conduct for public officials, and an electoral threshold law required before the 2011 elections, which was vetoed by President Sirleaf. The body also deferred any further response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report's recommendations. The president may recall the Legislature before the end of the year to consider the electoral threshold bill and ratify mining concessions needed to make up for a shortfall in the national budget. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) The 52nd Liberian National Legislature concluded its fourth session with the final meeting of the Senate on September 28. The House of Representatives earlier closed in a little-attended ceremony on September 25. The Legislature will return from its annual "agricultural break" to begin a fifth session on January 11, ¶2010. HIGHLIGHTS -------------- ¶3. (SBU) This session was marked by a cooperative atmosphere between the two chambers. The majority of bills passed easily from the House to the Senate with little controversy. The House was characterized by fewer leadership squabbles and corruption scandals (Ref A),but reports of bribe-taking in the form of "lobbying fees" paid to legislators to ensure passage of concession agreements continued. ¶4. (SBU) The leadership struggle which characterized the Senate during its third session was settled with the March 26 election of Senator Cletus Wortorson of Grand Kru County as President Pro Tempore. Wortorson restructured the Senate's leadership and selected new committee heads. New Senate rules adopted under his leadership led to a more proactive chamber -- bills were expeditiously passed in most cases, fines were levied against delinquent members and attendance improved. ¶5. (U) Two members of the Senate died during the fourth session. One by-election was held to replace a River Gee county vacancy (Ref B) while another is due on November 10 for a vacant Montserrado county seat (Refs E, J). Also of note this session were addresses by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Presidents of Finland and Namibia to special joint meetings of the Legislature. KEY LEGISLATIONS PASSED -------------- ¶6. (U) There were 68 regular, 21 executive and seven special sittings. Twelve bills were passed, while 16 concession agreements were ratified and 16 bills are still pending in-committee. Prominent laws passed during the fourth session include: --A PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ACT will improve the public financial management system and fulfill a key requirement for "completion point" under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) (Ref G). --The LAND COMMISSION ACT established a land commission, formulated new laws for land tenure and will act as a platform for conflict prevention and mitigation. --The COMMUNITY RIGHTS LAW will ensure that local communities benefit from the extraction of natural resources and use of public lands. --The ELECTORAL REFORM LAW seeks to amend sections of the constitution to reform Liberia's electoral system (Ref I). --The LIBERIAN AIRPORTS AUTHORITY ACT will bring Liberia in line with international aviation protocols, modernize Roberts International Airport, and is a key benchmark for the Transportation Security Administration's approval of direct flights to the United States (Ref F). --The LIBERIA EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE ACT seeks to ensure transparency and accountability of payments to government from organizations involved in Liberia's extractive industries. MONROVIA 00000802 002 OF 004 --The INVESTMENT INCENTIVES ACT OF 2009/ECONOMIC STIMULUS ACT reforms the investment code to make Liberia more attractive for foreign investment. --The AFRICAN UNION NONAGGRESSION DEFENSE ACT aims to promote peace and security and non-interference in the internal affairs of African states. --The ECOWAS ENERGY PROTOCOL fights climate change and promotes clean energy initiatives for the ECOWAS region. --The INTERNATIONAL COFFEE CONVENTION ensures that African and Latin American coffee farmers receive fair prices for their products by agreeing to controls on world coffee prices. -- The NATIONAL CHILDREN'S LAW seeks to protect children by advocating for a child's right to education, medical care and recreation. --A LEGISLATIVE MODERNIZATION PLAN will modernize the Legislature and bring its operations in line with international standards. BUDGET AND CONCESSION AGREEMENTS -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Although the fiscal year began on July 1, and Liberia has no mechanism for a continuing resolution, the 2009/2010 national budget was finally passed in August. Given the constraints of Liberia's cash-based budget, the Legislature felt pressure to ratify revenue-generating concessions with minimal discussion of their long-term consequences for local communities or resource sustainability (Ref K). The ratified concessions represent an estimated USD 4 billion of investment over the next 25 years. However, while they were expected to generate over USD 75 million in fiscal year 2010 alone, few concessionaires have begun paying, citing dwindling access to finance and low commodity prices as reasons for delaying extraction. These agreements were generally hastily ratified and both chambers simultaneously concurred on the same day in most instances. ¶8. (SBU) The Legislature ratified the Liberia Shipping and Corporate Registry agreement as well as agricultural and mining concession agreements between the Government of Liberia and: --Sime Darby Plantation Liberia Ltd. --Buchanan Renewable (Monrovia) Power Inc. --China Union (Hong Kong) Mining Co. --Anadarko Oil Company (Blocks 10 and 14) --AmLib United Minerals Inc. --Oranto Oil Exploration --Euro Liberia Logging Company --Geblo Logging Company --International Consultant Capital --Atlantic Resources Company ¶9. (SBU) Two concessions were not passed during this session, the Western Cluster Iron Mining Agreement and the Putu/Bokon Gedeh Iron Mining Concession. With collected revenues falling USD 23 million short of planned expenditures at the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2010, ratification of these concessions is needed to make up for the shortfall. President Sirleaf will likely recall the Legislature in November to ratify these concessions as well as pass a threshold bill (see paragraph 15). SENATE RATIFIES APPOINTMENTS -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The Senate approved several of President Sirleaf's key appointments. Some were initially rejected, but later approved after an extensive lobbying process by the Executive. For example, Labor Minister Tiawan Gongloe's nomination was initially rejected on the grounds that he selectively prosecuted officials of the previous government for corruption, while failing to go after current government officers. However, Gongloe had categorically and publicly refused to provide payments in return for votes, which likely did not add to his popularity. The nomination of Marc Amblard as Director of the Liberia National Police was also initially rejected on grounds that he lacked policing experience. Supporters of the two nominees traded votes to allow the eventual confirmation of both officials. Senators failed to ratify the nomination of acting Monrovia Mayor Mary Broh despite a Supreme Court affirmation of President Sirleaf's power to appoint mayors. EXECUTIVE BRANCH TESTIFIES BEFORE THE HOUSE -------------- ¶11. (U) Acting in its role as fiscal watchdog, the Legislature summoned several government officials in response to reports of wasted government funds, and their testimony resulted in a number of high-level dismissals. The House of Representatives called the MONROVIA 00000802 003 OF 004 Ministers of Health and Social Welfare, Internal Affairs and Public Works to explain how USD 200,000 paid by the GOL for relief from caerpillar infestation in Bong, Lofa and Nimba Counties was spent. The Minister of Education was asked to explain this year's steep nationwide hike in secondary school fees. Assistant Labor Minister James Zawolo responded to allegations that he issued an illegal barite mining license to a relative. (NOTE. He was subsequently dismissed by President Sirleaf. END NOTE.) The Commissioner of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) received a vote of no confidence for alleged financial and administrative impropriety, and the president later fired all five LTA commissioners (Ref C). MISSED OPPORTUNITIES -------------- ¶12. (SBU) Several bills stalled in the Senate at the end of this session, including: a bill criminalizing drug abuse and trafficking offenses, another measure creating a new capital in central Liberia, a new Revenue Code, and the Economic Stimulus Act. The most prominent stalled measure is the electoral threshold bill, with senators finally unable to agree with a revised House measure after President Sirleaf's line item veto of an earlier version (Ref H). The last-minute delay of the Investment Act, which was expected to pass in the final days of the session, was another HIPC Completion Point pre-requisite; its non-passage will ensure that Liberia cannot resolve its outstanding international debt by year's end, as originally hoped. ¶13. (SBU) The Legislature also failed to pass a Code of Conduct for public officials. Members were especially opposed to a required declaration of assets, with Speaker J. Alex Tyler declaring on October 2 that the "security situation is not conducive" for the declaration of assets by public officials. The Freedom of Information Act, under consideration since 2008, was also not passed. Other pending legislation includes: a measure to provide public funding for political parties and an act to establish a public broadcasting service. TRC FINAL REPORT SHELVED? -------------- ¶14. (SBU) The Legislature passed a joint resolution on September 3, which effectively suspended all deliberations regarding the still-unreleased Truth and Reconciliation Report final report recommendations until 2010. The resolution required legislators to discuss the recommendations listed in the preliminary report released by the TRC in June 2009 (Ref D) with their constituencies during the recess and gauge citizen views on a way forward. In a related move, senators postponed the approval of presidential nominees for seats on the Independent National Human Rights Commission of Liberia (Ref L) the body tasked with carrying out the TRC report's recommendations. LEGISLATIVE RECALL POSSIBLE -------------- ¶15. (SBU) The National Elections Commission (as well as members of the International Contact Group on Liberia and numerous civil society actors) called on the Legislature to pass an electoral threshold bill as required by the constitution on several occasions this year, warning that delayed passage of a threshold bill would have adverse effect on the 2011 elections. Consequently, President Sirleaf may recall the Legislature for a special session to pass a final threshold bill and consider pending mining concessions needed to avert a budget shortfall (Ref H). COMMENT -------------- ¶16. (SBU) Institutional weakness, poorly trained staff, cramped facilities, low attendance and limited constituent services continued to hobble the Legislature's performance. Despite these shortcomings and handicaps, the Legislature nonetheless demonstrated some laudable improvements during its fourth session. It passed substantive legislation critical to Liberia's economic and social development; it demanded more accountability from government officials and shone a light on corruption and waste; and it began exerting its role as a fiscal watchdog during lengthy budget debates. ¶17. (SBU) As the Legislature adopts the newly-passed Legislative Modernization Plan, it may continue to show improvements. It is worrisome that many lawmakers are focused on doing whatever it takes to protect their privileges, especially if they were listed as violators in the initial report of the TRC. We must remain committed to assistance programs that shore up the Legislature's institutions, promote good governance and reinforce the important and constructive role that the legislative branch plays in government. MONROVIA 00000802 004 OF 004 THOMAS-GREENFIELD