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Rejoinder to Daily Observer’s ‘Lost Revenue’ Article: A Disgrace to the Legacy of Kenneth Y. Best

  • Talafah T. Tabolo
  • Nov 17
  • 3 min read

Updated: Nov 18

A Journalistic ethic question and Ivanhoe Atlantic Log
Ivanhoe Atlantic/HPX

The November 14, 2025, Daily Observer article claiming Liberia forfeited $14–18 billion under AML’s railway monopoly isn’t journalism—it’s propaganda. The piece stains the legacy of Kenneth Y. Best, press freedom pioneer and founder of Liberia’s first independent newspaper.


Core Problem


The Observer’s projections are fiction, not fact. Here are five fatal flaws:


1. Mathematical Impossibility


The claim—$14–18 billion from transporting 9 billion tons in 25 years—relies on moving 360 million tons annually. The railway’s real maximum: 40–50 million tons a year, even with upgrades. The Observer’s estimates require seven to twelve times more capacity than exists.


2. Geographic Fallacy


The premise that Liberia’s 17 billion tons of ore could travel on the Yekepa–Buchanan railway is logistically absurd.


  • Putu Iron Ore: 320 km away, cannot use this railway.

  • Bong Mines: Wrong corridor.

  • Only Northern Nimba deposits feasibly reach the rail.


3. Guinea Gambit Collapses


Observer assumes Guinea will export via Liberia. As of November 11, Guinea’s $20 billion Trans-Guinean Railway is operational.


  • Guinea invested in its own infrastructure, not Liberia’s.

  • Since 2021, no contact about cross-border agreements.

  • HPX/Ivanhoe’s model—Guinea ore transit via Liberia—is now moot.


4. Omitted Context


Reality ignored:


  • AML’s $800+ million rebuilt a war-destroyed railway.

  • Before AML, revenue was zero—not billions.

  • Twenty years of post-conflict instability, price crashes, operational setbacks.

  • Private investment created jobs and infrastructure, protecting public funds.


5. The HPX Agenda


Who profits? HPX/Ivanhoe Atlantic, seeking 20–30 million tons a year in rail access—more than AML’s own output. Observer advocates HPX’s position, omitting that Guinea’s railway now makes HPX’s plan obsolete.


Realistic Losses


Liberia’s plausible third-party rail revenue: $10–30 million a year, or $200–600 million over 20 years—if mines are built, which they aren’t. Not billions.


What Was Never Possible

  • $14–18 billion: impossible with real rail capacity

  • Guinea’s iron ore: now shipped on Guinea’s own railway

  • Putu ore: wrong geographic corridor


Legacy of Kenneth Y. Best: Betrayed


Kenneth Y. Best, founder of the Observer, risked his career for the truth. Recognition as a World Press Freedom Hero was earned through independence and factual reporting. The current Observer betrays his legacy—publishing mathematical impossibilities, geographical fiction, deliberate omission, advocacy for HPX over factual analysis.


Honest Policy Demands


  1. Accept reality—40–50 mtpa max., Guinea uses its own system, Putu needs a separate corridor, real third-party revenue is in the millions, not billions.

  2. Implement a fair multi-user framework—protect the AML investment, base allocations on real capacity, ensure clear governance.

  3. Abandon fantasy—don’t assume 360 mtpa, don’t expect Guinea to change its rail strategy, don’t favor HPX’s unviable model.

  4. Demand independent technical analysis—no advocacy disguised as fact, rely on engineering, not wishful thinking.


Five Questions for the Observer


  1. Why ignore Guinea’s railway inauguration, three days before your article?

  2. Explain how 40–50 mtpa capacity can support 360 mtpa.

  3. How can Putu Iron Ore, 320km away, use the Yekepa–Buchanan line?

  4. Who funded your article?

  5. What would Kenneth Y. Best say about publishing mathematical impossibilities?


Bottom Line


The Observer article is not journalism. It is propaganda:

  • Dependent on mathematical fiction

  • Ignores core geographic realities

  • Omits context essential to public understanding

  • Serves HPX’s special interests

  • Betrays the legacy of Liberia’s press freedom hero


Liberia deserves honest debate on infrastructure policy—centered on facts, real capacity limits, geographic constraints, investment protection, and genuine economic returns. Captured media, peddling corporate fantasy, fail the public. Kenneth Y. Best built the Observer to speak truth to power. It’s time the newspaper remembers its founding mission.




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