Monrovia – It seems nobody is listening to President George Weah’s caveat about government vehicles after issuing two separate ultimatums ordering ex-officials to return said vehicles in their possession.
Report by Alpha Daffae Senkpeni – [email protected]
And this would be the President’s first test to show how his administration would pragmatically deal with long standing issues that dogged his successor.
Two weeks ago, the Liberian leader ordered all former officials to turn in government vehicles to the General Services Agency (GSA) on or before February 9.
Again on Friday, February 23 following his return from his first overseas trip, President Weah again issued another two-week ultimatum requesting that vehicles must be turn in.
This signals that his first ultimatum was totally disregarded by individuals sparking assertions about the improbability of regaining government assets.
The Weah-led administration is already sweating over the ‘broke’ government’ it has inherited and it’s looking to salvage the remnants of the Sirleaf administration to begin its ‘pro-poor’ governance.
“Our government is having problem and these are just simple problems. People who worked with the former government are hiding and scraping vehicles they used in the past government,” Weah said on Friday
“They are stealing all the cars leaving this new government with the burden to buy new vehicles. What is s car that you cannot be honorable enough to leave behind?”
“We have to be true to our government. I am glad that I am saying it in a church. You got two weeks or we will come for them to be used for the benefit of our country.”
Special Committee Set Up
On Monday February 26, Pres. Weah again set up a special task force to “retrieve all government-owned vehicles still in the possession of former government officials.”
“President Weah has mandated the former officials to submit within two weeks the vehicles to the Special Presidential Task Force,” states an Executive Mansion release.
The release stressed that “failure on the part of former officials will result in the forwarding of their names to the Minister of Justice for prosecution”
“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.
Wide Goose Chase
Multiple sources have told FPA that several government vehicles have been spotted parked in former government officials’ residence, which they claim shows a complete disregard to the President’s mandate and makes very difficult for the task force to retrieve.
However, some of these ex-officials are arguing that they had legally purchased these vehicles from the GSA, while the auctioning of some vehicles to ex-officials were reportedly endorsed by former President Sirleaf.
One source confided in FPA that the former President wanted to see some of her officials leave the administration with their assigned vehicles so she sanctioned the auction paving way for them to purchase these vehicles very cheap.
Several images have been flooding social media displaying several government vehicles apparently abandoned in mechanic workshops in Monrovia and its environs.
Task Force verses GSA
While the task force is expected to enforce the recollection of government vehicles, there are increasing concerns about the recent sale of over six government vehicles by the Director General of GSA Mary Broh, who had blatantly ignored a moratorium on the sale of scrap government vehicles.
FrontPageAfrica has in its possession a dossier of transaction documents alleging that the reappointed GSA boss sold over five vehicles to individuals, amongst them former and current public officials.
Ahead of the transition from the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to the Weah-led administration, the Cabinet ordered the preservation of “all state assets under the ambit of the GSA” until a review process is conducted by the GSA, Public Procurement Concession Commission (PPCC) and the Governance Commission.
After the revision process, the committee again recommended to the office of the former President that the sale of all government vehicles should be stopped, declaring that the process adapted to auction government vehicles was illegal.
The body also recommended that no previous administration official should be allowed to purchase government vehicles.
“In short, our recommendations were that – the way and methods in which government vehicles were being scrap should be stopped and that the law should be followed to the letter,” said Dorbor Jallah, Executive Director of the PPCC, while in a telephone interview with FPA.
But Broh, who has rejected several attempts by FPA to get response from her about the allegations, has sold five vehicles since November 2017 after the sale of government vehicles was stopped.
On November 1, 2017, Broh sanctioned the sale of a 2012 Nissan Patrol to one Morris Freeman for US$500 and later on November 3, she also ordered the sale of a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV for US$200 to Miekee Gray.
On January 18 and 19, 2018, she then ordered the respective sale of a Toyota Hilux to Rockson Nemly for US$1,000 and a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado to Varney A. Sirleaf for US$3,000.
The setting up of the task force, which doesn’t include the GSA Director General, raises suspicion that the President may be looking to work without Madam Broh in retrieving the lost vehicles.
Testing Weah’s Patience
It is not clear how the Weah’s task force would investigate the illegal sale of government vehicles as it prepares to probe the insolence of ex-officials who are clinging onto government vehicles.
The President himself has been emphatic about the stance his administration would take against could-be culprits and according to an Executive Mansion release they will be prosecuted.
“All of you who took government properties, you have two weeks to bring them back if not we will come for them. You have two weeks,” he said.
But observers say the situation is a perfect saga to evaluate the President’s stance against lawlessness and economic waste especially as he bemoans the challenging state of the economy.
“As a new President he has to show that he is serious about dealing with issues like these. He has to take robust action that will send a clear message that his administration would not tolerate lawlessness that will hurt the entire country,” said a former minister, who asked for anonymity.