Silence Fuels Suspicion -LRA, Mines Ministry Sitting On $400k Tax Debt?

MONROVIA – The silence from the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) and the Ministry of Mines and Energy on Hamak Gold’s massive tax debt is deafening, and it’s starting to look like a deliberate attempt to shield the company from accountability. The USD$400,000 debt has been hanging over the company’s head for far too long, and the public is demanding answers. The fact that Hamak Gold has been allowed to continue operating, and has even attempted to rebrand itself as 79 Resources, raises serious questions about the complicity of government institutions. And many are awing on how the lack of transparency and accountability is staggering in the matter. A Special Investigative Committee’s findings suggest that Hamak Gold is using its influence and financial muscle to manipulate the system and avoid paying its dues. The company’s claim that the debt was waived by the previous government is dubious, to say the least, and the absence of any official confirmation or evidence to support this claim only adds to the suspicion. As The Analyst reports, the public is right to demand answers, and it’s time for the LRA and the Ministry of Mines and Energy to come clean on this issue.

Two key government institutions, the Liberia Revenue Authority and the Ministry of Mines and Energy have gone quiet on a major question surrounding Hamak Gold Limited’s massive four hundred-thousand-dollar tax debt that has cost the government to lose hundreds of thousands that it is urgently in need of.

According to investigative reports obtained by —the Kamak Gold, has failed to pay government lawful taxes, yet it continues to claim ownership of the area. Sources at the Ministry of Mines say the control the owner of Hamak has over authorities at the Ministry of Mines is what protects him against the states interest to collect legal revenue. 

To shield his company and instead of clearing the debt, Hammak’s owners returned to the mining sector under a new company called 79 Resources. The new company then asked the Ministry of Mines for a fresh licence in the same area. The three-man Special Investigative Committee setup by former Minister Wilmot Pay discovered that Hamak Gold funds and controls 79 Resources, meaning it was the same company using a new name.

The committee also found that 79 Resources submitted questionable bank letters and confusing financial details. The aim, according to investigators, was to clean the old record, dodge the debt, and mislead regulators. What has sparked serious public concern is the silence of both Liberia Revenue Authority and the Ministry of Mines and Energy. Hamak Gold claimed that the debt was waived by the previous government through the Ministry of Mines and Energy, yet the committee says there is no evidence to prove this claim and no official has come forward to confirm it.

The name of Mr. Amara Kamara, who is the President of the Liberia Chamber of Mines, appears at the centre of the issue. He owns and runs the two companies and is accused of using money to influence certain staff at the Ministry of Mines and Energy in order to get illegal extensions and unofficial support for his operations. People close to the investigation say some officials received cash payments under the cover of consulting fees.

Public groups, civil society actors, and residents of Nimba are demanding answers from the two government institutions. They want to know why a company with such a huge debt has not been forced to settle it and why no one has responded to the claims of a secret waiver.

With both LRA and the Mines Ministry refusing to explain what happened, the matter has now grown into a national debate. Many are calling for a full legal review, the recovery of the entire amount, and an investigation into how Hamak Gold was allowed to walk away from its obligations and return under a new name.

The silence of both institutions continues to fuel suspicion, leaving the public to wonder whether this is mere neglect or a deeper attempt to hide the truth behind Hamak Gold’s four hundred thousand dollar debt.