Monrovia – Liberians are reacting differently to news that the Unity Party-led government is about to bring into the country 285 earth-moving equipment for distribution among the 15 counties for the sole purpose of maintaining and rehabilitating feeder roads.
By Selma Lomax, Selma.lomax2frontpageafricaonline.com, Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected], Willie Tokpah, [email protected]
This was made known last week during a virtual presentation of the equipment by the Minister of State Without Portfolio, Mamaka Bility, at a three-day cabinet retreat organized in Monrovia. According to Minister Bility, the equipment will be distributed 19 per county, a move that would see smaller counties getting the same number of equipment as bigger counties.
Her words: “The reason for bringing into the country is to promote the president’s vision of low-cost modern equipment for road maintenance. The plan is to have 19 pieces of earth-moving equipment in each county. We did this calculation with the help of Public Works Minister Lafayette Giddings. These equipment are intended not only for the maintenance of roads, but also to construct roads and bridges.”
The bombshell announcement
At the retreat, Minister Bility’s announcement drew one of the loudest applause. She revealed that Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Sylvester M. Grigsby, and Public Works Minister Roland Lafayette Giddings, along with her attended the virtual turnover of the 285 pieces of earth-moving equipment a few weeks ago. The equipment is part of the fulfillment of the president’s vision of low-cost modern equipment for road maintenance. A video of the turnover ceremony was shown during Madam Bility’s presentation, and has been making rounds on social media since then. The video features Mr. Xu Ming, Senior Vice president of Sany Group, a Chinese multinational heavy equipment manufacturing company, and the 3rd-largest heavy equipment manufacturer in the world, and Robert Gumede, Chairman of the Guma Group based in South Africa. Mr. Xu said he was honored to share the handover moment with the Liberian Government. Mr. Gumede said through the partnership, the companies were connecting Liberia with China and South Africa.
Bility said the coming of the equipment is a hallmark of a new beginning to change the destiny of Liberians.
“If you know the history of Liberia, and know the conditions of our road, this is more than just turning machines over. This is changing the lives of our people completely. We are totally grateful,” she can be heard addressing XU and Gumede.
She mentioned that for the first time since 1980, the government of Liberia will own its road maintenance equipment, under the Special Presidential Project. And in the coming weeks, the Executive Mansion will ask the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of National Defense on how to build these maintenance zones, adding that the engineering department of the National Defense will help with road maintenance along with the Ministry of Public Works.
A Shady deal?
Three days after Minister Bility’s disclosure, the Executive Mansion has provided no information about the nature of the transaction or the source of funding. Is it a loan, grant, donation, or direct purchase? The answer to each of these has implications for governance and the rule of law. If it is a loan then it has to be ratified by the Legislature according to the Liberian constitution. If it is a direct purchase, utilizing the budget approved by the Legislature, then the Public Procurement and Concession Commission law (PPCC) and Public Financial Management (PFM) law must be followed. The PPCC law and Revenue Law indicate that such transactions above 1 million must go through public tender and must also have Legislative approval.
FrontPageAfrica contacted Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah, but he told FPA that the government will address the public’s concerns during the Ministry of Information’s press briefing on Tuesday, 28th of May.
Lawmakers express concern
The vague deal, announced by the Boakai-Koung administration, observers say has questioned President Boakai’s commitment to promote transparency and accountability. He and his party had criticized the previous administration over lack of transparency and accountability the people.
President Boakai has vowed to promote transparency and accountability in his administration’s dealings. He reiterated his commitment to do so in a call with United States Vice President Kamala Harris. During that call in February, Vice President Harris underscored rule of law and transparency as fundamental elements needed to increase U.S. private sector investment in Liberia, and reiterated the U.S. government focus on facilitating private sector investment in Africa, including the US$8 billion in commitments announced during the Vice President’s March 2023 visit to the continent.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have also expressed cynicism over the deal with Sany Group and Guma. Senator Augustine S. Chea bluntly stated via his Facebook handle that knowing the source of the equipment is a must and as a lawmaker, he would push for the Legislature to get to the bottom to know the source of the equipment.
Senator Chea’s Sinoe County in the southeast, is one of the most affected in that region by the bad road network. However, he believes that the issue of transparency, accountability, and the rule of law was trumpeted. He added that the Legislature made no appropriation for the equipment in the national budget and has not ratified any loan agreement.
“We don’t know of any grant or of someone or an institution making a goodwill donation to the Government. I’m troubled by this double-standard: that the very colleagues who yesterday were loud-mouthed about accountability and transparency would be the same people to downplay it today,” he said.
Bomi County senator, Edwin Melvin Snowe, questioned the transparency in the pronouncement of the 285 equipment, adding, “we cannot sacrifice transparency and accountability on the altar of perceived development. Until the President or Vice President formally endorses this scheme through official documentation that will reflect transparency and accountability, I consider this as a way of the Minister of State without Portfolio looking for a portfolio at the expense of our people.
Not this time Madam Minister!”
Bong County District Five representative, Eugine Kollie, said it is concerning when the Executive Branch of Government fails to brief the public on issues that are relevant for the public or members of the Legislature.
“If the funding to acquire these equipment is a loan, then there is a major constitutional breach because Minister Bility had failed to fully familiarize the legislature, especially Liberian people, who may be affected by such a deal. In this instance, the public is now speculating as stated below: If the equipment is being loaned to Liberia, how much does the deal cost? What is the full detail of the loan agreement? What is the payment plan and how was the agreement entered into?” he said.
Liberia’s renowned political economist, Sam Jackson, believes each of the aforementioned questions has implications for governance and the rule of law.
“If it is a loan then it has to be ratified by the Legislature, according to the Liberian Constitution. If it is a direct purchase, utilizing the budget approved by the Legislature, then the Public Procurement and Concessions Act (PPCA) of Liberia and the Public Financial Management law PFM laws must be followed,” he said.
Mr. Jackson added that the PPCC laws and Revenue Law indicate that such transactions above one million must go through public tender and must also have Legislative approval.
“Could it be that the providers of the machines were single sourced? If this is the case, what was the basis for doing so? According to the PPCC Act, single sourcing can be done in cases of state emergency or cabinet resolution. In the instant case, there is no cabinet resolution as the announcement at the retreat seems to suggest a fait accompli,” he added
Ebomaf, Elton redux?
FrontPageAfrica has learned that the Guma Group, one of the companies providing the machines, is owned by South African businessman Robert Gumede. Guma recently announced a joint bid with HPX for a Concession for rails, an issue which also has implications for Mittal and has been a long running saga. Again, how was Guma selected to provide yellow machines? Is it a quid pro?
While the mixed reactions continue, some say this deal mirrors the failed Eton & Ebomaf loan agreements of the Weah-Taylor administration. Prior to the agreement, the company’s CEO Mahamadou Bonkoungou, Burkina Faso’s richest man offered one of his private jets to President Weah to use on his foreign trips, prompting public outcry over a possible conflict of interest.
At the time, the Weah administration announced that it was sourcing almost US$1 billion from the two institutions for the development of Liberia’s coastal highway.
While some Liberians at the time argued the loan could possibly lead to the mortgaging of Liberia’s natural resources to the two financial institutions, others argued that the country needed development irrespective of the risks to the natural resources because the vast natural resources have not been able to transform the living standard of the population.
The National Legislature even deliberated the issue of the Ebomaf and Elton loans amid mixed reactions from the Liberian public, yet ratified the agreements. However, the loans did not materialize. Prior to their dissolution by the Legislature, World Bank Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone Country Director in 2022, Henry G. R. Kerali has announced that the Government of Liberia set aside the Eton and EBOMAF loan agreements because they were not beneficial to Liberia and the bank was stepping in to provide an alternative.
Mr. Kerali said: “Our understanding from the Government is that those two loans have been set aside and the government is not proceeding with those two loans. So, all the evidence we have from the government prove that the information is correct, and that they have indeed set aside those two loans. The challenge that we had with those two specific loans was that they were non-concessional. In other words, the interest rate and the terms and conditions were not necessarily beneficial to Liberia.”
Now, there are fears that the pronounced arrival of 285 equipment could experience a similar fate like the Ebomaf and Elton loan deals. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have vowed to invite the Minister of State Without Portfolio to provide some information about the source of funding and other essential details related to the 285 equipment. According to a source, the lawmakers, mainly from the opposition bloc, are taking the matter seriously and planning to thoroughly quiz the minister during her appearance before that august body.