Introduction
Liberia has not been without corruption but much as now, was not heard of it. It came to public notice in 1980 when the government of William R. Tolbert ruptured in the hands of the late Sgt. Samuel Kanyon Doe’s led bloody military coup.
The rationale of the coup was defined in terms of charges such as “rampant corruption and misuse of public office.” Added to the remains of the slain President Tolbert were thirteen bullet-ridden bodies of leading public officials.
In five years however, it seemed the Doe government had no evidence of what happened to the allegedly “rampant” corrupt government of President Tolbert. Corruption came running line in line, from President Doe’s office to the police on the highway stations. Patronage and pardoning excesses were the military junta’s style of procuring loyalty and solidarity.
President Doe’s officials, in ten years developed a new trend in managing state funds, institutionalizing crime as well as making sexual exploitation of young girls a fashionable pastime.
By the rule of the gun under Doe, public malpractices got prevalent and the implementation of policies like the application of the law without due process became the order of the day, using fear as a tool to ensure compliance, not the least hesitating to use excessive force to effect enforcement. At the snap of his fingers, Doe’s already tribal built army invaded the campus of the country’s only national university (University of Liberia), leaving scores of students dead, wounded and faculty members brutalized.
Doe and his officials used their power to exploit young women, pocketing the people’s money just to catch the climax of lust in hotel rooms; fabulous houses were built overnight to impress the ladies and to keep having extra marital relationships. Since then, administration upon administration, corruption, abuse and waste have become the identity of the Liberia nation and its officials.
Before the advent of Charles Taylor and his National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) rebels, corruption of all forms has taken over the entire fabric of the country, including the private sector, not excluding institutions like the church, where pastors were allegedly abusing choir members. Taylor too promised to fight the menace but failed to achieve the desired result as senior officials were surviving on ‘kick backs’ from contracts government signed with investors. The Charles Taylor administration did not inform its citizens what was the actual value of the infamous Oriental Timber Company (OTC) concession agreement. OTC’s militias on the other hand committed series of human rights abuses against the locals in Grand Bassa and Rivercess counties.
The task for the watchdogs, the Liberian media, to keep checking and reporting the ills of the Liberian society became more cumbersome. Not only that, attempts to dig in after the facts of the misdeeds in government attracted the most severe treatment.
Government did not take media resolve lying down, but came cracking down on editors and their media outlets for reportedly probing public officials’ malpractices and in many instances, targeting reporters conducting the investigation. To this effect, several leading journalists from the News, Inquirer, Heritage, Independent, and Analyst were victims of Taylor’s dreadful security forces.
The media was reporting on how Taylor and his associates were looting state resources but could not pay civil servants for years. As a result, media houses were either shut down or regularly intimidated when journalists reported critical issues that affected the survival of the citizenry. The detention and torture of ‘journalist’ Hassan Bility of the Analyst newspaper is a classic example of Taylor’s brutality against journalists during his rule in Liberia.
The civil war ended with Taylor surfaced behind bars in The Hague but Liberians again witnessed another promises, this time coming from a lady who has been in the vanguard of social justice, rule of law and good governance, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Following her election in 2005 as Africa’s first female elected president, she went on record at her inaugural ceremony, by committing her administration to the fight against corruption, declaring it public “enemy number one.” To consolidate this commitment, the new President called on every Liberian, especially the media, to help fight corruption.
Clearing speaking, this enemy, corruption, has been undermining development and growth in Liberia. To help her revise the quagmire, President Johnson-Sirleaf particularly invited the press, stressing that the “media should fight it by exposing officials who will engage in malpractices.”
From that statement, some Liberian media houses and practitioners including, The Independent, The News, Public Agenda, FrontPage and New Democrat newspapers decided to lend support and fueled their vigor and therefore got set to fight the deadly disease (corruption),attacking it wherever it was found and where applicable, prevent it by exposure or beaming the early warning signals.
But it soon became glaring that the government appeared not too sincere or focused on the fight against corruption; while nowadays officials of government stood behind the smokescreen of public policy on freedom of the press, transparency and accountability, the independent press was however systematically targeted, using state security personnel to intimidate reportage on malpractices in government. The President too joined the negative crusade against the media, when she publicly described journalists as ‘check books journalists’, a statement that did go down well with Press Union of Liberia. Former PUL Secretary-General, Alphonso Zeon defended media and said the press was working in very difficult terrain but the president was ‘frustrated’.
A heated fray developed between the government and the press but sooner, some leading dailies tactically resolved to side with the regime and engaged public relations reporting for the government, thus downplaying the importance of investigative journalism, fearing how this could affect their business interest or families. Many of such papers will do nothing about reporting on anything called corruption in spite of the glaring wave of corruption … institutionalized corruption. It is a somewhat self-censoring on reportage, apparently pursued to obtain adverts or benefits from government institutions. Some media managers attributed their slow-down on investigative reporting to the lack of coordinated opposition party to checkmate these reported corruption issues.
But in the presence of huge international groupings here, the Ellen-led administration is following the footsteps of her predecessors like Presidents Doe and Taylor with state security forces brutalizing and intimidating journalists. During the first term of President Johnson-Sirleaf, state security officers on several occasions beat up journalists for asking what governmental functionaries would consider “critical questions.”
A Liberian media advocacy group, the Center for Media Studies and Peace Building recorded and reported over fifty (50) separate incidents of attacks on journalists since the incumbency of the Johnson-Sirleaf’s administration in her first term of six years. Although, government passed into law the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) in late 2010, officials were still reluctant to disclose public information to journalists especially on government’s financial transactions.
Quite obvious is the hard fact that the administration had backtracked to the old tactics of using adverts to either censor or compel editorial compromises, often demanding papers to cut their stories in ways that suited governmental policies.
For the record, many Liberian media managers suffered sustained losses during the last civil war that forced Charles Taylor to resign; mindful of what adverts denials have done to media houses, couple of publishers have resolved not to get “critical” but rather seek to befriend the regime at night, and to benefit therefrom.
Some of these media practitioners have gotten so money oriented that anything could go, not in the least to talk about compromising public interest cases. For instance, some have reneged on investigating major concessions in the oil and gas sector, timber industry, mining and the privatization of leading state-owned enterprises including sea and airports without investigating the contracts and benefits thereof.
They have failed to inquire what the citizens’ benefits were in these various contracts and concessions. How these rehabilitation projects are being tailored; are they emergency projects or sustainable or durable ones and what are the safeguards and monitoring mechanisms put into place for the country not to fall victim to substandard works as in the case of two Chinese construction companies-CHICO and CICO currently involved in road construction projects around the country. They are also sanctioning the rampant abuse and murder of little girls; financial and administrative malpractices as well as the decadence of the moral rectitude of the Liberian society.
What has become intimidating to the government is answering the question, “how are those few critical newspaper were surviving in such present day harsh economic environment where ordinary people live on less than one dollar twenty-five cents United States ( US$1.25) per day?
At the close of her first term, the Nobel Peace Laureate also emulated some bad practices of Mr. Taylor’s style of governance by furtively establishing her own propaganda empire; powerful like Taylor’s KISS FM and PATRIOT newspaper out of state control. This has even flooded the Liberian media landscape in Liberia with the coming into being of several other pro-government media institutions, to attack their professional colleagues when they report critical national issues. Another format of past regimes is the tactics of tax pressure on media institutions.
While others pro-government radio were breaching journalism ethics in favor of the ruling party (Ellen’s Unity Party) during the 2011 elections, government decided to shot down three local radio stations for the government termed as broadcasting ‘hate messages’ during the presidential runoff when police stormed and raided the compound of the main opposition, the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC). During hearings at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia, the government failed to provide proof to substantiate its purported ‘hate messages’ those stations were allegedly engaged in.
However, there are about thirty (36) newspapers and four (4) magazines registered with the Ellen-led administration but only half of the number were actually operating at the time. About thirty of the thirty-six were political newspapers while the rest reported on more of social concerns. Among these were thirteen dailies, six weeklies while the rest publish intermittently.
The Issue At Hand: Corrupt Contracts And Concessions
Despite their apparent commitment and allegiance to assist the president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in her recovery programs for Liberia and lift Liberians, public officials were heavily busy bleeding state coffers at different levels even with the Liberian leader pardoning their poor performances during the first term after failing to meet expectations? At the close of the first term, the government generated over US$1bn from taxes but pretty much close to US$400m was misappropriated by her officials under dubious circumstances, according to the government’s auditing entity, the General Auditing Commission (GAC), then headed by former Auditor-General, John S. Morlu.
Besides the country’s money, the international community led by the United States and European Union said it had contributed some US$3bn towards Liberia’s recovery and funded 80% of government’s resuscitation and development programs, while officials of the government were bent on duplicating the same projects or programs in their institutions or agencies’ budgetary allotments; thus, squandering monies intended for those projects. Also, China and the European Union (EU) contributed huge technical assistance to Liberia.
Notwithstanding, the government took some measures in the fight against corruption by passing into law several anti corruption instruments including the General Auditing Commission(GAC), Liberia Anti Corruption Commission (LACC), Freedom of Information (FOI) and the Whistleblower Acts aimed at impressing the international community that government is serious about fighting corruption.
But recommendations from these institutions were somehow implemented on either on selective basis or ignored by Madam President. The Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC) which is to ensure transparency and accountability in the procurement of goods, works and services was in the constant practice of ignoring the procurement process regarding contracts and services to the government. The leadership of the PPCC coined a new formula called ‘sole sourcing’, meaning to singly hand-pick the contractor of its choice which in many cases, violates the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act of the country.
In as much as Madam President renewed her commitment to fight corruption, the former President failed to prosecute her close buddies who were booked in connection with all sorts of abuse, fraud and waste during the first term of governance. Among them were former Public Works Minister Lusinee Dunzo; former Managing Director of the Liberia Petroleum and Refining Company (LPRC), Harry Greaves (late); Former Deputy Finance Minister for Debt Management and Expenditure, Rodney Smith (late), Health Ministry officials and several other high profile officials whom she has failed to use as examples in the so-called corruption fight hullabaloo.
However, while Liberians were busy preparing for 2011 Presidential and Legislative Elections, government hurriedly signed several contracts and concessions without public participation. Hiding behind the scheme that the National Legislature represents the Liberian people, the Executive Branch of government intensified its lobby to have those contracts passed and ratified in the shortest period of time and at times on the same day of submission, with little or no proper scrutiny by the lawmakers to allow public debates on crucial agreements.
Concessions such as SIFCA, Buchanan Renewables, APM Terminals, Motherwell, Elenilto, Chevron-Liberia Ltd, were among some of the controversial deals that were rejected by the public on grounds that the processes leading to awarding those contracts or concessions were marred with fraud and bribery. Some citizens protested the huge tax holidays sectoral officials were offering the investors while the government was hiking taxes of ordinary citizens who are living in abject poverty. Some Liberians who are experts in these sectors argued that most of the companies lack technical and financial capacities to manage those projects.
The government then went ahead and signed all the controversial agreements despite the huge public outcry without any modification to the contracts, to the dislike of people. Apart from the natural resources investment contracts, other service contracts like the new Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) completion project was also marred with administrative missteps, thus violating the country’s procurement of goods and works regulations.
Interestingly, some of the concessions signed did not address the issues of employment and contracts, lacked environmental components, direct social benefits among others. Some Liberians complained about the government’s failure to address the issue of employees salary/wage benchmarks during its negotiations with investors, as many are hired as ‘contractors’ and not employees of these firms.
For instance, the former Managing Director of the National Port Authority (NPA), Madam Matilda Wokie Parker protested the APM Terminals deal on grounds that US$100m was small to run the port for twenty-five years with about fifty (50%) increment in port charges payable to the APM but she later signed the deal after threats from Madam former President to dismiss her.
But while the choruses of good governance, transparency were being sung, malpractices became more prevalent in the internationally acclaimed government of Africa’s first female President and 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate. The regular distribution of the national budget for public scrutiny was no more; contracts were now prepared outside of Monrovia and ready for signing before pronouncements, public bid processes turned into a secret society and long lists of corruption indicators continue unabated.
The media itself was working in extreme difficult circumstances and cannot go beyond its reportage. Local Media Outlets were being strangulated in such a harsh economic environment due to the government’s refusal to settle its obligations thus posing a bleak future in balanced reporting and damning corruption. However, no actions from the opposition political institutions were forthcoming regarding the reported malpractices particularly in the alarming natural resources debates of the oil and gas sector, while the civil society also looks unconcern on these frightening and disappointing national issues.
However, the government through the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) announced the discovery of oil in Liberia in February 2012 through the exact amount of petroleum deposits in and along the Liberian coast was not disclosed while the monetary value of contracts between the government and various oil companies were also unknown.
Not surprising but to the dislike of the public, the former President appointed her most ‘cherished son’, Robert Alvin Sirleaf to chair NOCAL board the same week the government pronounced the discovery of oil in Liberia. But following weeks of public protest on Mr. Sirleaf’s appointment, former President Johnson-Sirleaf when on State radio to tell the Liberian people that her son was qualify for the post, though he{Robert} is not a petroleum expert which violates the Liberia petroleum Law of 2002. Besides, he was also occupying another high-profiled public post, serving as Presidential Advisor to the former President, which is another violation of the law of Liberia. Three of the former President’s children were occupying senior posts in government. Fumba Sirleaf headed the nation’s secret service, the National Security Agency {NSA}, Charles Sirleaf was Deputy Central Bank Governor and Robert Sirleaf head of NOCAL board and presidential advisor respectively.
Since the pronouncement of oil discovery, public debates on the future of the Liberia oil benefits intensified with the Executive and Legislature, mainly the House of Representatives at odds. In April 2012, the House Plenary called for the renegotiations of the ten existing oil contracts. While the Executive argued at the time that renegotiating the various oil contracts would reflect bad international image for the country.
But regrettably, the government could not account for revenue generated from the various oil explorations deals since 2006, and instead gave huge tax waiver including royalties. In a classified NOCAL document, the government said the simple reason for the Production Sharing Contracts vary with the Petroleum law on the unrealistic waiver, is that the “extreme risk of the sector, some provisions of the law especially 3.3,3.4 and 3.7 regarding equity and royalties were not possible to negotiate from the companies”, because Liberia was classified as “frontier region, which means maximum risk. The government contended in its classified paper titled: BACKGROUND BRIEFING ON LIBERIA’S OIL SECTOR, that frontier region means for companies to come at all you have to offer them more, adding, Liberia got the best deal it could under the circumstances. As Liberia develops, that risk reduces and Liberia can demand more from new contracts it signs and maintained that “that is also the rationale for revising the law”. Although the government said at the time that it is impossible to say until we know what is down there but on the contrary, the same classified document indicated that “2D and 3D seismic surveys under taken by TGS Nopec between 2000 and 2010 indicated “Vast untapped oil reserves in its territorial”.
Petroleum experts have debunked the government argument at the time that it surrendered the country’s equity shares and royalties because Liberia is frontier state and could not negotiate the nation God-given benefits. Apart from Liberia’s equity and royalties mortgaged to oil investors, other essential revenue such as income tax, signature bonus fees and corporate social funds were all “missing in actions”. The experts further argued that to renegotiate the various oil contracts is not violation of any international concession protocol as bulk of the companies have not begun production or full operations. For instance, the experts contended that the various oil contracts were review and renegotiate upon the ascendency of Professor John Attis-Mill due the huge irregularities noticed in Ghana’s oil sector. Those international oil firms remain and worked with Ghanaians people in reforming the entire oil and gas sector before production kick off, the oil experts maintained.
Notwithstanding, in February 2012, a US foreign service leaked shady deal between the former Liberian leader and the US oil giant, Chevron-Liberia (Limited) on an astonishing amount of US$10.7bn contractual agreement but the government failed to inform its citizens on their would-be benefits.
The leakage of what became visible as a secret oil deal involving former President Johnson-Sirleaf and Chevron-Liberia in the tune of US$10.7 billion dollars gained much public attention at the time .
The US leaked document indicated that the entire Chevron oil deal was marred with bribery and all sorts of malpractices allegedly involving the former President, former US Ambassador, Mrs. Linda Thomas-Greenfield and the company’s executives but following the release of that information the government failed to publish the Chevron-GOL contract or explain to the Liberian masses what the oil contract entails for Liberians. Chevron bought over 70% shares of Oranto three oil blocks-11, 12 and 14 with Oranto owing 30% and NOCAL has option to receive 10% shares from Oranto at start of commercial production.
What happened after the alleged bribes became public is a tale of compromise and competing priorities that shows how hard it is to root out alleged corruption, even when a Nobel-laureate president has made the stamping out of that menace one of her main goals.
Besides, several oil exploration companies including African Petroleum and Anadarkor contracts value were not known. The UK-based Global Witness (GW) and its local partners Sustainable Development Initiative {SDI}, Center for Transparency and Accountability {CENTAL and other natural resources advocacy groups recommended to the government for early reforms in the oil and gas sector by involving recognized civil society and international stakeholders to avoid the occurrence of other countries, where oil has become a ‘curse than blessing’. Interestingly, most of those implicated in the early corruption in the oil and gas sector were top officials of the ruling Unity Party of former President Johnson-Sirleaf. Former senatorial candidate on the UP ticket, Mr. Cleamencue Urey was linked to the Chevron bribery deal, while Grand Kru senior Senator and UP 2011 Campaign Manager, Cletus Wotorson was a member of the Oranto controversial deal that reward Chevron the rights.
The Controversial Motherwell Contract
As corruption continues to strengthen its tentacles in the internationally favor regime of the Noble Peace Prize 2011 winner, former Madam President, several other contracts were entangled in controversy including the Motherwell rehabilitation deal with the Liberian Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC). The LPRC-Motherwell contract valued at US$21m was stained with clandestine activities which have led to the resignation of two of the company’s Board Chairs; Professor Wilson K. Tarpeh and Cllr. T. Negbalee Warner. Both men are said to have resigned due to what was described as the unending financial malpractices that have engulfed the entity headed by the then Managing Director Mr. T. Nelson Williams.
While the LPRC was still nursing the bleeding of its coffers from the US$15m financial indiscipline during the late Harry Greaves’ administration which Mr. Nelson-Williams served as Deputy Managing Director, another financial malpractice was uncovered.
According to documentary evidence available, MD Williams without the approval of the Board of Directors of LPRC paid Motherwell US$900,000 which the former board chairs described as “financial improprieties coupled with other forms of waste of the corporation’s resources.
The former Board Chair, Cllr. Warner cited a barrage of financial miscarriage at the LPRC and during a press conference which he said that he resigned because he did not want to serve as the head of the highest decision-making body of a corporation that is allegedly characterized by indisciplined financial management and waste of public resources, when he could do little or nothing to stop it contrary to his prior stand.
The former LPRC BOD Chairman also furthered that there were several questionable contracts and transactions that the corporation signed prior to his ascendancy. The most important of these alleged questionable contracts is the Petroleum Storage Terminal (PST) Rehabilitation Contract signed with Motherwell Bridge Limited (MBL), a Scottish company for rehabilitating critical facilities of the corporation.
Continuing his allegations against the LPRC management, Cllr. Warner also stated that the Managing Director (MD) at the time presented to the board, for the first time, an instrument called Amendment of PST Contract signed between Management and Motherwell on the same date as the PST Contract (October 22, 2010) was signed by which according to him, (Warner), LPRC has undertaken the responsibility for all tax obligations of the company as well as duties, fees and other charges payable to the Liberian public authorities.
But the LPRC BOD quickly rejected Cllr. Warner’s claims and in a statement issued on February 15, 2012. The board clarified that inasmuch as it is obvious that there were indisputable challenges at the entity, financial malpractice was not part of the menace at the institution.
The BOD’s statement alleged that the resigned board chairman was inundated with conflict of interest; something the BOD claimed was a contributing factor for his resignation. But Cllr. Warner further alleged that “the irregular commitment of the corporation by the Mr. Nelson-Williams management team is not the only problem with the Motherwell Contract.
Cllr. Warner also confirmed that former MD Nelson-Williams, without the proper approval of the board, was paying the same Motherwell without obtaining from the company any security for the payment. It is my understanding that the circumstances under which the payment was made is presently a subject of criminal investigation. More besides, the materials for which the US$900,000.00 payment was supposedly made have not been delivered by Motherwell for almost close to a year. There are other troubling aspects of the Motherwell Contract that need not be disclosed now.”
But the board in additional reaction agreed that the MD paid the US$900,000 under circumstances but argued that all contracts and transactions at the LPRC were legitimate and subscribe to the Public Procurement and Concession Commission (PPCC) Act. “All Contracts were evaluated by a panel of technicians, legal advisors, and departmental stakeholders. Also, all contracts at LPRC were approved by the BOD and a Senior Management Team.
However, a partial evaluation document on the PST rehabilitation and expansion contract listed three companies; MOTHERWELL BRIDGE, SAHARA INTERNATIONAL AND ZAKHEM. The document furthered that Motherwell Bridge proposed US$22.4m with ‘price savings’ of US$2m and time to begin the project on January 1, 2010 and four and half (4.5) years to complete. Sahara International also proposed US$21m project cost with US$3m as ‘price savings and was to begin work on February 1, 2010 and end in four (4) years and Zakhem earmarked US$23.5m with US$1.2m as ‘price saving’, to start work on January 1, 2010 and to complete within four (4) years.
But during the evaluation process, the president dismissed the former MD Greaves who initiated the PST rehabilitation project for his involvement in bribery with Zakhem Construction Limited.
The late Greaves said at the time that member of the presidential committee, former Deputy Minister Aloysius Jappah was requesting bribe from him. The Greaves administration at LPRC qualified as the bid winner of the contract but upon the dismissal of the late Greaves, Nelson-Williams pronounced that Motherwell was selected to rehabilitate the PST. Zakhem then complained of foul since saying it is the legitimate winner of the contract.
Following the rejection of Zakhem, the Nelson-Williams LPRC management said Motherwell came first in its new technical evaluation, placing Zakhem second, while Sahara was ranked as the third company.
But since the signing of the contract with Motherwell, there was no physical work to be seen at the LPRC done by Motherwell, as the firm’s activities was ordered investigated by the LACC for not adhering to the terms and conditions of the contract and has already received over US$1m from LPRC. Some former officials at the LPRC said Sahara International has the best option and better bank guarantee regarding the proposed price and coupled with its time frame to begin and complete the project.
Motherwell had promised to complete the work within four and half years with US$22.4m and Sahara proposed US$21m and finish within four years but LPRC management claimed what it termed as “Sahara’s ability to mobilize in a timely manner and quality of materials for the project.” Since the award of the contract to Motherwell, the PST rehabilitation project is far lagging behind schedule as most of the activities of the company are still pending, according to LPRC-Motherwell contract timeline.
However, despite the huge payment of the repair funds to Motherwell, the LPRC management was still issuing credit benefits to importers who claimed tank leakage at the PST and other storage facilities compromised at the disadvantage of the company. A GAC financial observation memo to former MD T. Nelson Williams dated June 3, 2011 said “We have observed that no May 5, 2011, a credit memo number 803 was issued in favor of National Petroleum Liberia Limited (NPLL), an entity that imports petroleum products with a value of US$143,340.40 for operational or tank losses. The GAC added that “However, we investigated and realized that NPLL has not incurred any operational or tank losses since its operation. Therefore, to issue credit memo valued at US$143,304.80 to NPLL for operational or tank losses is a distortion of the fact and such practice constitutes fraudulent financial reporting and must immediately stop”, the GAC maintained.
But in the end of these countless malpractices in government, the former Liberian leader still participated and approved these controversial and fraudulent contracts despite alerts from the GAC, LACC and other anti corruption establishments. Former Madam President also shielded several senior officials who were booked for financial malpractices by the country’s supreme auditing entity, the GAC but to the surprise of citizens and her international partners rather recycled them from one post to another. A classic example is Former Finance Minister Augustine K. Ngafuan, who was promoted as Foreign Minister was asked by the GAC to refund over US$5m that he could not account for at the ministry but the former president defended Ngafuan without him facing any inquiry. Apart, bulk of the officials who were investigated by the various presidential committees and found liable for bribery and administrative malpractices walked free without punishment.
Many Liberians continued to ask where the President’s own sincerity in the fight against corruption is. And if the president could sanction bribery deal, then when corruption would depart Liberia, as the same promise is still around goes with the same problem unabated.
Hope for Change, Change for Hope Joined The Jamboree Too
Liberians and their international partners witnessed the first democratic transition in Liberia after 71 years as former World and Africa’s best footballer, George Manneh Weah took the mantle of authority from former Madam President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
President Weah too in his inaugural address at the jammed Packed Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex promised to fight ‘powerful’ corruption and Liberians will not be spectators in their own economy.
Ironically, few months into the Coalition for Democratic Change administration of President Weah, public officials begun amassing wealth; building luxury properties at the disadvantage of the citizenry.
Despite the building and purchasing of these luxury properties, the new powerful public officials refused to declare their respective asserts as required by law. Apart, state laws and other regulations are being sidelined in the face of huge public outcry. Since then….To be continued.
