Liberia: Weah Govt. Relieves ‘Integrity Idol’ Winner, Head of Procurement Commission of Post

MONROVIA – The George Weah-led government has declined to reappoint Mr. James Dorbor Jallah as Executive Director of the Public Procurement Concession Commission (PPCC), urging him to turn over all the commission’s assets to his deputy.

Report by Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]

Mr. Jallah, whose tenure at the PPCC elapsed on January 2, 2019, is acclaimed for the level of integrity and international backing he brought to the PPCC.

He is the winner of the 2018 edition of Integrity Idol – an initiative to highlight the efforts of those who, amidst widespread proclivity toward corrupt behavior, are serving with integrity in the public sector.

FrontPageAfrica gathered that the outgoing procurement chief recently declined to grant a ‘no objection’ to award a concession to Pritsal Oil Holding EAD of Bulgaria for the development of the Cargo Holding Facility of the Port of Buchanan, Grand Bassa County. 

The ‘no objection’ request was made to the PPCC by the National Port Authority (NPA) on December 4, 2018.

The contract was also intended to rehabilitate and create a new cargo loading berth at the port, among other things.

Mr. Jallah, however, according to an FPA investigation, declined to grant the NPA’s request on ground that the NPA did not submit a copy of the unsolicited proposal and the company profile of Pritsal Oil Holding EAD of Bulgaria and;

The unsolicited bid submitted by Pristal Oil Holding did not meet conditions a, b, and c of the Regulation 69 (9) which spells out the requirements for the awarding of an unsolicited concession proposal.

In addition to that, the concession was not earmarked under the annual concession plan and no concession procurement plan was made for said concession. 

Mr. Jallah, according to a communication obtained by FrontPageAfrica, then advised the NPA to conduct an international competitive bidding (ICB) in accordance with Article 97 of the Public Procurement Concession Act (PPCA) of 2010. 

The NPA was further advised to write the Office of the President to constitute an inter-ministerial concession Committee pursuant to Section 83 (1) of the PPCA Act of 2010.

“Additionally, the Commission further advises that the concessions procurement plan submitted by the NPA be revised to indicate implementation timelines for all activities that were deemed not to be applicable to the procurement process and kindly seek guidance from the Commission whenever it becomes necessary during a procurement process of the proposed Private Public Partnership (PPP),” a communication from the PPCC to the NPA noted.