MONROVIA – In 2019, the National Road Fund stood tall amongst the many issues raised by two members of the House of Representatives who were the proponents of an impeachment bill for which the House of Representatives impeached and the Senate removed former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Kabineh Ja’neh.
Representatives Moses Acarous Gray, and Thomas Fallah made emphasis on the road funds case which stood as a basis for his impeachment. The former Associate Justice was accused of making a wrongful decision on the road fund case taken to the Supreme Court by petroleum exporters including Musa Bility. Justice Ja’neh’s ruling was, however, endorsed by his colleagues on the Bench, including the Chief Justice.
Today, the usage of the fund is being questioned by a member of the same Legislature. Senator Willington Geevon-Smith of RiverCess County wants an audit conducted on the usage of the funds.
Senator Smith at a news conference on Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021 questioned a report submitted by managers of the road fund to the Senate Committee on Ways, Means and Finance which stated that over US$600,000 was disbursed to his county he claimed is untrue.
“For managers of the road fund to say in 2020/2021 they disbursed or spent more than half of million United States dollars on constructing roads in Rivercess is not true and they are yet to convince me. They should submit to an audit,” he said.
He described the figures stated in the report as “offensive” to the people of Rivercess County. “We did not benefit the expenditure of over US$600,000. My people are still sleeping in the mud because of bad road,” he said.
According to him, the amount stipulated in the report is ‘unrealistic’, as such there is an immediate need for investigation and the conduct of an audit for the expenditure of the road fund.
The Rivercess County Lawmaker informed Legislative Reporters that he will write the Plenary of the Liberian Senate to investigate the National Road Fund Commission to provide justification as to how the said amount captured in the report was spent on the Rivercess road.
