Monrovia – The Special Presidential task force setup by President George Weah to retrieve government vehicles has again accused the director general of the General Services Agency of undermining its operation after recovering 21 vehicles from Maryland and Sinoe Counties.
Report by Alpha Daffae Senkpeni, [email protected]
Benedict Reeves, head of the task force, said amongst the vehicles retrieved were trucks rented to oil palm company Golden Veroleum by Efficient Logistics Services based in Monrovia.
Thirteen of the 21 recovered vehicles including Trucks, SUVs and several motorbikes arrived in Monrovia at about 7 pm on Wednesday and are parked on the grounds of the Executive Mansion.
Reeves said the recovered bikes are part of some 500 motorcycles donated to Liberia by the People’s Republic of China that went missing. He said 400 vehicles are also missing from the Ministry of Health, announcing that 22 pieces of the 400 vehicles have been recovered.
“So, we think we’re making some progress even in the midst of all these very cheap politics,” he said.
So far, he disclosed, that 235 vehicles have been recovered since launching operations in mid-February this year.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday evening, Reeves accused Mary Broh, Director General of GSA, of continuously obstructing its operations, emphasizing that Broh is shielding several individuals who have illegally sold government vehicles based on her connection to them.
“My intel shows me that these trucks were making US$250 per day with Golden Veroluem Liberia (GVL) and the individuals are here in town while the money is going to their account,” he said while displaying documents with signatures of Madam Broh and her deputy, Boakai Sirleaf, which sanctioned the sales.
He said several vehicles were found in isolated areas in Maryland County, some disguised and parked in private compounds in Harper and Pleebo cities.
“I have already recommended prosecution for the GSA coordinator in Harper, Adolphus Williams, who sold lots of government properties. He sold a police pickup and I found that pickup in one compound in Pleebo,” he said.
He said after the task force arrested an individual in the Southeast for allegedly selling a government jeep, “It was very shocking to me when Madam Broh called and I heard her shouting on the phone, calling the deputy chief of police for Harper – threatening that he will lose his job.”
Broh and the task force have been embroiled in words-of-war since the government launched the task force.
She had earlier accused the task force of compelling her to use her personal resources to support its operations.
But the Task force fired back, accusing the GSA director for putting up a “noncompliance posture to its operations”.
FrontPageAfrica had reported earlier this year that Madam Broh had been selling vehicles after the Cabinet placed a moratorium on the sale of vehicles in November 2017.
FPA still has in its possession a dossier of transaction documents showing that the GSA boss sold over five vehicles to individuals, amongst them former and current public officials.
The documents show that on November 1, 2017, she sanctioned the sale of a 2012 Nissan Patrol to one Morris Freeman for US$500. Later on November 3, she also ordered the sale of a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV for US$200 to Miekee Gray.
Also, on January 18 and 19, 2018, she then ordered the respective sale of a Toyota Hilux to Rockson Nimely for US$1,000 and a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado to Varney A. Sirleaf for US$3,000.
Regardless the level of evidence gathered by the task force following it operations in the Southeast, pointing to violations in the sales of government vehicles by the GSA boss; it still appears that Madam Broh is untouchable.
“I am doing nothing more; I have been successful in the job without falling in problem because I’m sticking directly to the Presidential mandate,” Reeves said.
“The President said to me, ‘make the recommendations and the name will be forward to the Ministry of Justice’ so our first listing will come up in the newspaper with those names that we are sending to the Ministry of Justice for prosecution from who to whatever.”
And Reeves said the exercise will continue until the Ministry of States for Presidential Affairs gives an attached duration to its operation, but he said the team is still committed to retrieving more vehicles.
Following what the task force head termed as a “tedious but successful” operation in the Southeast, it is now preparing to launch a “stop and search” operation in Monrovia.
“Sometimes, we do it unannounced for security reasons, so that they don’t conceal the vehicles. I have some intelligence that as far as Guinea border, they still have some vehicles there hiding and I have that on my agenda,” he said.
“When we’re doing stop and search, even if Madam Broh is driving in a car that she bought from GSA it will be taken from her. I am about to establish check points around (the city) and the cars (gov’t cars) will be taken from anybody.”
Reeves, however, claims his life is under threat since he embarked on the exercise, mentioning a recent situation which saw he and his team coming under attack by the GSA director, saying the alleged action of Madam Broh is a “fight against the government”.
At the same time, he said individuals vehicles that were impounded by the task force can recollect them once they exhaust the procedure through the relevant government agency or ministry.
“If you need your car, come and the secretariat will purchase your document and you go to the Ministry of States to get it. The mandate (that set up the task force) says I should retrieve the car. I’m looking for a phrase in the mandate that says ‘release the car’, so it’s not with me to release, it’s left with the man who constituted the task force.”
Meanwhile, he said while carrying out the operations in the Southeast of the country the task force also held engagement across the border with immigration officers of Ivory Coast to help thwart the crossing over of stolen government vehicles.
The Ivoirians assured the task force that Liberia’s government vehicles that are not on official mission will be prevented from crossing over, promising that any stolen vehicles arrested will be turn over to the task force.
Reeves praised the support of the President and saying the success of his work is because of the chief executive non-interference.
“The president, who constituted this task force, has not picked up the telephone one day to call me to threaten me or order me to release a vehicle, so I’m motivated because we have the head of states backing us.”