Monrovia – President George Manneh Weah’s nominee for Managing Director of the Liberia Water & Sewer Corporation (LWSC) was in 2015 dismissed from the entity for acts amounting to corruption and conflict of interest.
Report by Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]
Mr. Moseray Momoh served as Procurement Expert/Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project (UWSSP) but was relieved from his post in July 2015 following his double standard in a bid for some works on the Water Treatment Plant at White Plains.
The Government of the Republic of Liberia received a grant from the African Development Fund (AfDB) towards the cost of the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project (UWSSP).
It was intended that part of the proceeds of the grant would be applied to eligible payment under the Contract for the Rehabilitation of the White Plains Water Treatment Plant and 36 inch – 21km transmission pipeline from the Plant to Paynesville Redlight in Monrovia.
The main works under the rehabilitation include but is not limited to the following: Replacement of pumping equipment, valves, piping, flow meters and chemical handling and dosing equipment; Replacement of electrical system and control panels, including provision of power generating equipment and facilities; Construction of new generator building and installation of a new transformer, Removal and replacement of filter media, piping, and controls; Replacement of fence and gate; Rehabilitation of operator’s and chemist’s buildings; Rehabilitation of backwash water steel tank; Replacement of membrane roofing; Rehabilitation of the 36” finished water transmission main including leakage test, replacement of various valve types, and protection of exposed pipeline sections.
Prior to his dismissal from the LWSC, Momoh was suspended on May 21, 2015 in order to create a smooth corridor for his investigation.
A copy of his suspension letter obtained by FrontPageAfrica, signed by the then Managing Director reads partially:
Dear Mr. Momoh!
Compliment
In view of the allegation levied against you by the Bid Evaluation Committee, the LWSC is constrained to suspend you without pay until a full investigation.
During your suspension, you are to handover UWSSP documents to Mr. Zohn Doebo, Procurement Manager and make yourself available as/when required by the committee.
Mr. Momoh, according to the investigation, being the procurement consultant, was caught in a procurement scandal, having failed to inform the evaluation panel at the beginning of the bidding process that he or his company had relation with one of the companies in bidding for the contract.
“This is critical in such cases as full disclosure allows all parties to be protected. Such an omission calls into question the transparency of the process,” the investigators noted in their report to the LWSC Board of Directors.
According to the investigative report, the procedure employed by the bid evaluation committee was not sufficiently robust to avert lapses during that procurement process.
Insiders informed this paper that lapses were created in order to create room for favoritism in the bidding process, knowing that companies of interest were participating in the bid.
This paper gathered that Moseray, without regards to transparency and fair play, allowed a company believed to be owned by him or a close relative of his was allowed to participate in the bid, without recusing himself from the evaluation process.
According to the then Managing Director, Mr. Allen, the LWSC had been grappling with issues of integrity and could no longer afford losing the support of major partners.
“The Procurement Expert be terminated for issues of conflict of interest and the Project Manager be sanctioned as the oversight responsibility of the bid process lies in his remit.
“Management had continuously reminded them of the reputational challenges faced by the corporation and the need to ensure that such lapses in the bid receipt and documentation did not obtain,” the investigation team noted.
According to sources, Momoh has been blacklisted by donors and his chances of overseeing a donor project have been dented by this incident at the LWSC.
FrontPageAfrica has not been able to independently verify this information with Mr. Momoh.
The source, who asked for anonymity as he finds himself within diplomatic cycles, told FrontPageAfrica that the Liberia Water & Sewer Corporation is likely not to benefit from donor funding should Momoh be confirmed by the Senate as to head the entity due to lack of donor confidence in him.
It can be recalled that President Weah had to recall the nomination of Cllr. Charles Gibson as Justice Minister-designate following series of reports on his involvement in misapplication of entrusted property.
Also, a respected member of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) recently criticized the government for toying with appointments to government positions.
Mr. Lester Tenny in a Facebook post noted that “It was never an agenda to recruit family members and friends who share no vision nor possess the slightest inclination of running a bedroom before given serious responsibilities to manage the state.”
“If we chose to assist families and friends, it should and must never be at the embarrassment of the President.”
“The office of the president cannot be brought to public disrepute. Let’s not forget the battle we fought with those who libel the president as inept and incompetent.”
In recent time, Mr. Weah’s government has come under criticisms after three of his brothers were discovered to have been hired by the National Port Authority – duplicating positions already occupied under different nomenclatures.