Monrovia, June 20 -- A startling contradiction between two senior Liberian government officials has stirred national confusion over the number of foreign workers employed by ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML), raising concerns about inter-agency coordination and the credibility of official labor statistics.

The debate flared Thursday during separate public appearances by Labor Minister Cllr. Cooper Kruah and Civil Service Agency (CSA) Director General Josiah Joekai, who offered sharply divergent figures regarding AML's foreign workforce.

At a press briefing hosted by the Ministry of Information, Labor Minister Kruah disclosed that just over 1,500 foreign nationals currently work for ArcelorMittal, mainly in technical roles linked to the compa...