Monrovia – FrontPageAfrica has reliably gathered that the special task force formed by President George Manneh Weah to repossess government vehicles has allegedly resorted to Police intimation to seize vehicles suspected of belonging to the government.
By Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]
The latest to fall prey to such intimidation is Dr. Clarence Moniba who served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Head of the President Delivery unit in Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s government.
Eyewitness told FrontPageAfrica that Dr. Moniba on Wednesday morning had to face the embarrassment of being “repossessed” of his own vehicle by seven armed officers of the Liberia National Police who were acting under the directive of the task force.
According to the eyewitness, Dr. Moniba was stopped in the Red Light commercial district by the armed men who surrounded his vehicle and demanded him to present all the vehicle’s particulars.
“Dr. Moniba presented them all of the documentations including the purchase receipt, tax clearance, registration, insurance etc.”
“They still insisted that they take the car and therefore placed one armed AK 47 officer in the car to take his family home as his mother and young child was in the car with him. They followed Dr. Moniba with two additional vehicles,” the eyewitness said.
FrontPageAfrica gathered from family sources that Dr. Moniba purchased the vehicle under question from the GSA as part of the government policy about two years ago when he served as head of the President’s delivery unit.
His assigned government vehicle was turned over to the GSA as he left office. Many efforts to reach Dr. Moniba to speak on the matter could not materialize up to press time Wednesday night.
But FPA was also informed that other former government officials have experienced similar debacle at this hands of the special taskforce.
The former mayor of Paynesville City, Cyvette Gibson’s, house was reportedly intruded by the armed officers who tussled with her relatives in the compound, leaving some of them wounded, before taking away her vehicle.
Former Transport Minister Angela Cassell-Bush experienced similar ordeal when her vehicle was also forcibly taken out of her compound by a tow truck guarded by armed officers.
Upon his return from Paris, France on February 23, President Weah renewed a two-week ultimatum for former officials of government who were still possession of government vehicles to return to the GSA.
An Executive Mansion release on the President’s ultimatum noted, “failure on the part of former officials will result in the forwarding of their names to the Minister of Justice for prosecution.”
The release continued: “The Liberian leader has also directed that all former officials who had purportedly purchased vehicles from the General Services Agency (GSA) to submit these vehicles to the Special Task Force for verification.”
Those named to the Task Force include Mr. Benedict E. E. Reeves, Chair, Hon. Patrick Sudue, Inspector General of Police, Mr. Sam Worzie, Member, Mr. Garmondeh Glaydor, Members, Mr. Isaiah T. Harris, Fleet Specialist and Robena L. Brown, Member.
Speaking to FrontPageAfrica, Police Spokesman, Woods Nyonton, said the Liberia National Police has a mandate from President Weah to repossess government-owned vehicles.
He said though the government is aware that some of those vehicles were purchased by individuals and former officials of government, not all who claimed to have purchased the vehicles acquired them legally.
“Imagine an official buying a 2016 model for US$600, that should let you know that vehicle was fraudulently acquired,” he said.
According to him, LNP is under obligation to seize the vehicles for investigation to ascertain the manner in which they were bought.
“A lot of these officials are not willing to turn their vehicles over for verification, so it leaves the Police with no option but to go for them.”
“When we investigate and find out they were purchased legally, we call them back for their cars. And also, we will charge those who bought government vehicles illegally,” he told FrontPageAfrica in a mobile phone interview.
The Liberia Revenue Authority has a three-year depreciation policy for vehicles including Government of Liberia vehicles.
The government of Liberia has a buyback policy that her vehicles can be bought after they are depreciated based on the 2011 amended Liberia Revenue Code section 204b.
The Public Finance Management Act of 2009, Part V.5 states, “The conditions and terms of disposal or sale of immovable or movable assets shall be determined by the General Services Agency”.
A former government official questioned: “The government determined the terms and conditions to sell the vehicles to the buyers through GSA and why should the same government send out Police officers to harass her citizens that legally purchased the vehicles?”
FPA gathered that the new administration has been under pressure by its new officials for vehicles to facilitate its work, prompting some radical decisions by the Task Force to retrieve vehicles.