Monrovia – Finance and Development Planning Minister, Samuel Tweah, has admitted that the ETON Finance PLT Limited and EBOMAF loan agreements signed by the government of Liberia were flops and could be canceled.
Report by Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]
Min. Tweah was part of the Liberian delegation to Hong Kong to negotiate the loan deal.
President George Manneh Weah signed into law the ETON Finance PLT Limited and EBOMAF Loan Agreements in June this year, lauding the National Legislature for ratifying the loans.
Both loans were intended for road construction to pave an early way for the reelection of President Weah in 2024.
The government has been silent about the loans since they were signed into law. Speaking on the matter on Tuesday, Finance Minister, Tweah, said the government’s concern now is not about the which company provides money for the road construction, it’s about constructing the roads before the end Pres. Weah’s first term.
“We’re building roads, we’re not beholding to contracts. We have a commitment to the Liberian people to build roads… We are not stuck to any one contract. Those contracts have default clauses in them and could trigger cancellation. All I am interested in is to tell the Liberian people that the President will build their roads,” said Minister Tweah Tuesday when he served as a guest on ELBC’s Super Morning Show.
The ETON deal is a US$536 million financing agreement for the construction of 505.3km of roads including the corridor from Grand Bassa County in Buchanan through Cestos City in Rivercess County to Greenville City in Sinoe County onward to Barclayville City in Grand Kru County – 316km road.
The EBOMAF SA Loan, according to the agreement, is expected to cover the pavement of 323.7 km roads including the Somalia Drive via Kesselley Boulevard to Sinkor in Monrovia -16km, Tappita to Zwedru in Nimba and Grand Gedeh Counties and from Toe Town in Grand Gedeh County to Ivory Coast Border-10.2km road. It includes the 185km road from Zwedru in Grand Gedeh County to Greenville in Sinoe County.
The road construction also includes the corridor between Barclayville to Sasstown road-21km in Grand Kru County; while the Barclayville to Pleebo road-75km in Grand Kru and Maryland Counties will be constructed and paved.
The ETON Financing Road Agreement will also cover Western Liberia counties including the Tubmanburg to Bopolu -52km road in Bomi and Garpolu Counties while the Medina and Robertsport-41.3km road in Bomi and Gbarpolu Counties.
Several red flags were raised in the media over the manner in which agreements were arranged. A FrontPageAfrica investigation uncovered that ETON, a private financing company said to be based in Hong Kong had no record of lending, neither was there any record of its existence on the internet.
The Weah-led administration came under fire over the lack of transparency and proper vetting of Eton, which on paper presents itself as a Singapore-based financial company. Investigation by FrontPageAfrica previously established that several weeks before the loan arrangement, Eton Finance Private Limited, on May 7, 2018, re-applied to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) to be reinstated under the same name and Unique Entity Number, 200510984K, and re-naming the same shareholders and directors (Receipt Number ACRA180507174296).
Additionally, a FrontPageAfrica query of the Singaporean Business Registration Portal (www.bizfile.gov.sg) using the Unique Entity Number obtained from the Eton Finance Private Limited, 200510984K, shows that the company status was listed as “Struck Off”, raising more questions about their capability to raise the money for the Liberia loan.
EBOMAF is managed by Mr. Mahamadou Bonkoungou, the wealthy Burkinabe businessman who President Weah acknowledged is a friend who just happened to provide a private jet which he used for several travels after his inauguration. This was a gross violation of the National Code of Conduct.
However, despite all these red flags raised by the media, the Legislature speedily ratified the agreements without proper vetting and even encouraged the President to solicit more loans to foster his agenda.
At one point, President Weah labeled media entities and individuals who criticized the loan agreements as enemies of the country.
“My people, don’t listen to those criticizing me for lobbying for loans. Those doing so are enemies of the country. The loans I am taking will be able to complete the roads in three years. When I am asking partners for loans any of them who tell me that they want complete the roads in six years, I can say no because I know in the next six years, if I don’t do anything for you, I will not be re-elected,” President Weah is on record for saying.