MONROVIA – Leaders of the Student Unification Party (SUP) of the University of Liberia Thursday gave a seven-day ultimatum to the Liberian Senate to prevail on President George Weah to ensure the investigation of corruption claims released by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission against the Ministry of Agriculture and the Liberia Institution of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS).
In their petition, SUP threatened to effect a ‘Citizens Arrest’ of individuals named in the report if nothing is done by the Ministry of Justice to investigate them and find them culpable if they are proven guilty.
“We are calling on the Liberian Senate to pressure President George Weah and Justice Minister Musa Dean to urgently proceed to court with the accused. The Ministry of Justice is the only hope to dispense justice and not to shield people accused of corruption,” SUP said in a statement.
“The Senate should not turn blind eyes on the fight against corruption. The silence of the Senate is validating the stealing of the Census money and they are acting in similar manners as per their silence.”
The pending population Census may not be conducted this year, and those at the helm of the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS), Prof. Francis Wreh, and two of his principal deputies, and others, have been partying from the Census’ bank account, FrontPageAfrica’s investigation has established.
The National Population and Housing Census is estimated to cost US$18,956,650.00, and of this amount, the Government of Liberia was expected to provide US$6,782,243.43, while the UNFPA and other partners matchup the government’s contribution to the estimated cost.
The Liberian government, however, committed to contribute US$3 million.
LISGIS and the UNFPA signed co-financing agreement on May 15, 2019 wherein both LISGIS and the UNFPA agreed that the government through LISGIS will contribute US$6,782,243.43 in support of the census which should have been held since 2019.
In the agreement, both parties agreed all that contributions from the government would be transferred to UNFPA’s account with CitiBank in New York.
It was agreed that the payment from the payment would be made as follows:
April 30, 2019, US$1 million; June 30, 2019, US$2 million; December 31, 2019 US$1.5 million and on June 30, 2020, the last payment of US$2,282,243.43 would be made.