The_Open_Door_deel1

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not provide for a price of gold to be used for tax purposes
whereas the agreement with Trumbull did contain an Article in
this respect and, further more, when it was granted an
(unlimited) exemption of import duties for a period of ten
years while Trumbull had to face the provision that an exemption
of duties would not be granted if any competitive goods would
be available in Liberia, and, lastly, although the agreement
provided for an excise tax on its output (58), the Concessions
Secretariat maintained the point of view that this was not
payable when the products of the operations were exported (59),
an opinion which appears not to have been based upon the
concession agreement of December 1972.
It may be concluded from the above study that, first., there
is a need for a standardization of concession agreements. In
the second place, generally, the two concessionaires who had
easy access to President Tolbert seem to have been granted more
favourable terms than the other two investors. Noticeable in
both cases is the intermediation of A.B. Tolbert, the President's
oldest son. The causes underlying this phenomenon are (l) the
(nearly unlimited) power of the Liberian President, in combination
with (2) the weakness of the National Legislature which earned for
itself - already during the rule of President Tubman - the
qualification of a "rubber stamp parliament".
Thirdly, great improvements were made as to the contents of the
concession agreements in general (although there is still room
for further improvements). A markedly positive change which was
introduced by the Tolbert Administration concerned the protection
of the rights of the (tribal) population of Liberia vis-a-vis
the privileges granted to foreign investors. The concession
agreement with Trumbull in 1970 stated that "(.,«) during the
Exploration Period (,.) the concessionaire shall have the
exclusive right and privilege to enter upon the surface of the
land within the Exploration Area" (60) which exclusive right was
a very regrettable slighting of the rights of the population
living in the Exploration Area (i.e. "all that parcel of land
within a 70 miles radius from the town of Gbokonjedeh"), people
who without exception depended for their living on the products
of their lands (held by law or through custom). The company was
also granted the right to use private lands within or outside
the Concession Area (6l), No clause had been included which
protected the rights of the population except one with respect to
the right of water (62). On the other hand, President William
Tubman had been thoughtful enough to include that "no lease,
right-of-way, or easement shall be granted if it substantially
interferes with operations of another previously granted
concession agreement" (63). This throws a very unexpected light
upon the national unification policy of President Tubman who in
eulogistic and official publications was always praised as the
"champion of the rights of the tribal population". Even the
doubtful Globex mining concession agreement did not include such
a discriminatory treatment of the tribal population.