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to train Liberians, in which opinion he was supported by the
State Secretary who objected to the vagueness of this obligation.
As to previous agreements, e.g. with the African Fruit Company,
the Government in its turn similarly promised to assist BFG to
secure an adequate labour supply and "to prevent the infiltration
of radical elements which could interrupt or affect adversely the
company's operations". (15)
I
One of the most prejudicial omissions in the agreement was, the
absence of any clearly defined obligations or sanctions that
could be imposed in case of non-fulfilment. Under the 1954
Agreement there is no obligation e.g. to submit information to
the Government when requested. During interviews, officials of
the Concession Secretariat within the Finance Ministry complained
to the present author that BFG repeatedly did not answer letters
containing requests for data. The fact that most of the
information relating to the company's operations in Liberia is
not kept in this country, but in the headquarters of the B.F.
Goodrich Company in Akron, Ohio, U.S.A., is only partly
responsible for this behaviour of BFG's managers in Liberia.
As Firestone is characterized by the same attitude,it is very
likely that more information on the Liberian rubber sector can be
found in Akron, U.S.A., than in Liberia.
BFG's financial contribution has been very modest - as will be
clear after the foregoing - and is virtually limited to the
payment of rentals for the Development Area occupied. The company
never paid any corporate tax payments as the tax holiday will only
expire in 1981 (16).
THE LIBERIAN AGRICULTURAL COMPANY
After the boom in the early 1950's in foreign investments, several
years passed during which the country did not succeed in
attracting any major foreign investment. In 1959 an agreement was
signed between the Government of Liberia and a group of Italian
financiers and investors, among whom were the Vatican and the
Pirelli company. The Vianini Construction Company, notably one of
its top Directors, M.Morelli,, acted as intermediary and coordinating
institution. The Via,nini Construction Company was one of the
two major construction firms in Liberia, engaged in the construction
of roads, and already established in Liberia for a number of
years (17).
The concession agreement of March 3, 1959 with the Liberian
Agricultural Company is virtually the same as the agreement with
the B.F. Goodrich Company. The exclusiveness of the rights
granted within the concession areas (also comprised of two distinct
areas each approximating 300,000 acres), the privileges as
related to the duty-free importation of necessary equipment and