President Joseph Nyuma Boakai once admitted that during his years in the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration, Liberia could have done more but allowed key opportunities to be squandered. That admission now hangs heavily over his own presidency, as recent decisions raise concern that the country may be repeating the same mistakes.
The Senate’s ratification of the Production Sharing Contract with Oranto Petroleum has triggered serious questions about standards, legality, and national interest. As Senator Amara M. Konneh warned, approving this agreement reflects a failure to uphold the discipline Liberia’s petroleum sector urgently requires.
At the center of the concern is credibility. Granting petroleum rights without clear evidence of technical capacity sends a dangerous signal that paper guarantees can replace proven competence. This undermines investor confidence and risks reopening Liberia’s petroleum basin to speculative actors rather than serious developers.
Equally troubling is the restructuring of the mandatory US$15 million signature bonus into a four-year installment plan. Signature bonuses are intended to demonstrate commitment and seriousness. By accepting delayed payments tied to uncertain future events, the government weakens Liberia’s negotiating position and encourages speculative behavior.
The agreement also raises legal red flags. Liberia’s Petroleum Law limits exploration periods to seven years, yet the Oranto deal reportedly extends this to ten years. When laws governing strategic sectors are bent or ignored, the consequences are long-lasting and costly.These concerns are not isolated. Margibi County Senator Nathaniel F. McGill, a former Minister of State under the George Weah administration, also voted against the Oranto deal, describing it as a bad agreement that does not serve Liberia’s best interests. Notably, McGill supported the HPX and TotalEnergies agreements, reinforcing that opposition to Oranto is not opposition to investment, but to deals that fail to deliver real national value.
This editorial is not an argument against investment or development. Liberia needs both—urgently. But development built on weakened standards, legal shortcuts, and ignored warnings is not progress; it is repetition.
President Boakai’s legacy is still being written. Leadership at this moment demands learning from past admissions, enforcing the law, and placing the national interest above short-term convenience. Liberia cannot afford to look back yet again and admit that another critical opportunity was squandered.
