In Liberia, mining has a significant impact on the economy, health, and well-being of local communities in concession areas. Mineral Development Agreements (MDAs) establish incentives, payments, and responsibilities between the concession company and the government, but do not always follow international best practices for engaging and protecting the community affected by the resource extraction. MDAs can be long, complex, and highly technical, and too often little effort is invested to simplify information and communicate any rights of the community or obligations of the company included in the MDA.

This is the case at the Bea Mountain concession in Grand Cape Mount County, where Accountability Lab Liberia, with support from German Cooperation through GIZ, is working to address these challenges through Citizen Helpdesks. Five Community Frontline Associates (CFAs) and one Local Mobile Journalist (LMJ) have been recruited, trained in community engagement, constructive dialogue techniques, and methodologies for data collection and analysis. This team is now working with the local community through a baseline engagement survey to understand key issues and concerns.

In an effort to understand key issues and concerns, the CFAs carried out a 3-day survey in the 5 towns in the concession area. Of the total population of 15,000, 996 residents were randomly polled. The key objective of this survey was to develop citizen-generated, evidence based data that will guide future decision-making, ensure fair treatment of citizens and build trust and accountability among the communities, government and the mining company.