Wilmot Paye-Reforms-Minded, Results -Driven Powerhouse at Mines & Energy

MONROVIA – Former Secretary General, former Chairman of the ruling Unity Party nevertheless, Wilmot Paye is not bogged by the trappings of politicking to forget or ignore the educated, trained geologist and the professional paragon that he is, taking over a very critical ministry of Government – Mines and Energy.

Socially conserved and tactful, largely credited to his Seventh-Day Adventist upbringing, Paye has proven a match for the traditionally palatial but highly technical top job at the Ministry.Student and political activist all long, the one-year-old Mines and Energy boss is given to much studiousness and the craft of critical thinking, of unraveling complex and pressing emergencies and scenarios, and coming out with sensible answers and solutions.

All that he has transposed and invoked at the Ministry, keeping zealots in check, interrogating the glooms and dooms that had marred the Ministry yesteryears, casting the embers of light to bleak caves within, and charting a trajectory clear and potentially well-off. Staff and employees at the MM&E as well as independent observers who have been following the stewardship of this professionally sensitive boss have already exclaimed in testaments about the groundswell of transformation he has injected not only into the long-stymied Ministry but also in the Liberian energy and mines ecosystem.

The testaments are also commonplace amongst international financial institutions and partners, such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund, all now reporting soaring growth and shrinking inflation due largely in part to the upped performance in the energy and mining sector – and apparently because of the cleaning and spurring taking place the ministry. “Growth is forecast at 5.2% in 2024 and 6.2% in 2025, driven by the expansion of services and agriculture and existing mining projects (emphasis ours),” said the African Development Bank, and added the World Bank: “Growth in 2023 was primarily driven by mining, expansion in gold output, and construction”.

The catchphrase popularized by the Paye-led Mines and Energy Ministry is “pushing reforms with integrity, without fear and favor—nothing less!” and this rallying call is resonating with staff, consultants and partners who are sparing no day in asking the hard questions, all centered on transforming and reforming a long-dead-but-now-awaked cash cow.

During his leadership, with a measly operational budget of US$3.6 million, the Ministry of Mines and Energy was able to generate US$118 million against the US$112 million 2024 Fiscal Year Budget target of the National Legislature, thus amounting to an excess mining sector revenue generation of US$ 6,187,000 or 5%.In the Mining Sector, the Ministry conducted a comprehensive review of Exploration Licenses, Class B Licenses and commenced a thorough status review of all Class A Licenses to determine whether the holders are operating and to separate illegal operators from legitimate license holders who could be holding the Country’s mineral sector hostage.

The Ministry also immediately dissolved the age-old and so-called Volunteer Inspector program that had entrusted non-employees with statutory functions of the Ministry on the field. The volunteers, to compensate themselves, got involved with illegal mining activities including extortion and aiding illicit miners. The Ministry also established a Mineral Sector Working Group (MSWG) composed of stakeholders in the mineral and mining sector for better coordination and sector governance.The Paye-led Ministry commenced the review of the Minerals and Mining Law of 2000 and also commenced full reform efforts for the Ministry’s Inspectorate Program with plans and actions taken to decentralize the Ministry’s operations with the opening of County Offices in 2025 to bring the Ministry closer to mining communities across Liberia.

In an effort to modernize further, Paye replaced all obsolete and dysfunctional testing equipment at the Office of Precious Minerals (OPM) and the Mining Cadastral Unit, thereby enhancing their effectiveness and productivity.He made to the Ministry receive a complete geological mapping and geochemical datasets for the Harper Quadrangle and Lofa County from the Government of the People’s Republic of China.The new data was generated through a project called the Liberia Mineral Resource Survey sponsored by the Government of the People’s Republic of China.

The data sheds a new light on Liberia’s mineral potential because the last geological mapping was done more than five (5) decades ago with support from the Government of the United States through the US Geological Survey.Geochemical analysis has revealed some 41different minerals that also include an encouraging potential for Critical Minerals).In further efforts to rebrand its physical facilities, the Ministry commenced a complete renovation and refurbishing of its premises to boost positive public perception and employee morale and to support relocation of the Liberia Hydrological Service (LHS) from a rented building on the Old Road in Sinkor to reduce total cost of operation.

The Ministry also acquired nine (9) brand-new double-cabin pick-ups and thirty (30) motorbikes to support the Ministry’s decentralization plan and enhance its monitoring activities across the Country. In additional collaboration, the Ministry established a robust Joint Compliance Enforcement Team involving the Ministry of Justice (i.e. Liberia National Police, Liberia Immigration Service, etc.) to minimize illicit mining and other legal activities in the mining sector that are counterproductive to economic development.The Ministry established an internal Legal Unit to support the drafting of regulations and advise on all litigation issues.

The Ministry also established an internal Hearing Board in compliance with the constitutional requirement and principle of giving due process to parties in a case.In an effort to broaden external collaborations for capacity-building, the Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Liberia geared towards capacity building and research and development to benefit Liberians.In the Energy Sector, the Ministry completed the sectoral review and validation of the National Energy Policy (NEP 2009), an instrument that represents a transformative shift in Liberia’s approach to energy production, consumption, and management.

It is the expressed aspiration of the Ministry and other energy stakeholders that the outcome of this review will be a new energy policy that will encourage, promote and support a greener, more efficient, and productive economy prepared to meet Liberia’s growing energy needs to build a Country improve the livelihoods of its citizens enhance economic development.During the year, the Ministry supported and jointly signed an Administrative Regulation for migrating all Ministries, Agencies and Commissions (MACs) of the Government of Liberia from the current Postpaid Metering System for electricity consumption to a Prepaid Metering System and this policy is expected to be rolled out in the 2025 Fiscal Year.As a way of enhancing energy sector coordination, the Ministry established an Energy Sector Working Group (ESWG) with the primary purpose of being a platform for deliberating on matters related to energy policies, regulations and their implementation in Liberia.

The Ministry also carried monitoring and evaluation visits to ongoing energy project sites across the Country including the Light-Up South-East, 150-MW Saint Paul River Hydro Project (SP2), 42-MW Mount Coffee Expansion, and a 20-MW Solar Park Project at Harrisburg, Montserrado County, respectively. Also, the World Bank-funded Regional Emergency Solar Power. Intervention Project (RESPITE), a public financing project, is being overseen by the Ministry. InOctober 2024, with technical assistance from the World Bank and the AfDB, Liberia, through the Ministry, commenced the preparation of its National Energy Compact in response to the announcement by the Banks to provide electricity access to 300m people by 2030.For the purpose of knowledge transfer and capacity building, a total of forty-One (42) Liberian Geologists and Mining Engineers were seconded to several exploration and mining companies. This was done in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Minerals and Mining Law of 2000 and the Exploration Regulations of 2010.

A secondment of additional Mining Engineers and Geologists is anticipated as more licenses become available. Also, a total of fifty-three (53) employees started benefitting from capacity building opportunities provided through bilateral relationships with the Governments of Japan, Egypt, and Sweden. These training programs include one master’s degree and 52 diplomas in various important disciplines.Finally, the Ministry is moving onto the 2025 Fiscal Year with key strategic priorities including decentralization of the Ministry by establishing offices in the 15 counties and amending the Minerals and Mining Law of 2000 and the Electricity Law of 2015. In terms of technological transformation, the Ministry intends to digitize all of its licensing processes and install closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in its offices to aid in investigations and curb illegal actions.

The Ministry also envisions mobilizing funding to complete the Geological Mapping, Geochemical sampling and Airborne Geophysical survey of the remaining nine (9) Quadrangles.For these and a myriad of other achievements that are not listed here due to the issue of space, The Analyst has singled out the Ministry of Mines and Energy under the leadership of Minister Wilmot Paye, for transforming the mining and energy sector within just one year.

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