Monrovia – This paper has received reports that Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor’s attempts to personalize floors in the newly constructed Chinese annex to the Capitol Building, has been rejected and resisted by majority members of the Senate.
Report by Henry Karmo, [email protected]
According to a communication from the Senate Pro-Tempore, a copy of which is in possession of this newspaper, VP Taylor made a request for office spaces on the second and last floor of the Senate newly constructed annex to be allotted exclusively to her.
She also requested that the larger room on the second floor be used for dining purposes by the Senate. Part of the Vice President request is to also have absolute control over the elevator.
In response to her request, Senate Pro-Tempore Albert Chie, with a mandate from the Senate Plenary informed VP Taylor that Senators will be given more priority.
“The Senate leadership and plenary will have me also inform you that while they agree with you that the staff of the Vice President need decent place of work as indicated in your letter, the priority should be senators.
“Madam Vice President, the Senate Plenary and Leadership have also mandated me to request you allow Senators access to the elevator installed in the annex and the kitchen facility available therein without security barriers.”
The construction of state-of-the-art annexes at the Capitol Building, the seat of the Legislature, funded by the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been completed.
The construction of the two annexes began in October 2016 under, “The Grant Assistance Project.” The new Capitol Building was formally completed and keys turned over to the Ministry of Public Works (MoPW), which subsequently handed them over to the Joint Legislative Modernization Committee.
Jiangsu Jiangsu Construction Company constructed the annexes, while another Chinese company, the China International Engineering Design and Consultant Company Limited, supervised the engineering component. The Ministry of Commerce was responsible for the project.
The annexes have 40 offices, including 20 for the Senate.
Each office is furnished with a desk and chair for a receptionist, cushion chairs for the waiting room, and executive chair and desk for the Representative or Senator.
The offices of the Representatives have a hallway, a room for the staffers, single waiting room and a room for Representatives, while the ones for Senators have similar but double rooms for staffers. Unlike the previous unit, in the new annexes the Offices of the Vice President, the Speaker and President Pro Tempore have more than three rooms and additional furniture.