-But the Union says modalities being worked out to start construction
By Mark N. Mengonfia, mmenginfia@gmail.com
For years now, the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) headquarters construction project has been dragging on and moving from one controversy to another, with an ideally located plot of land in the Monrovia suburb of Sinkor being left unused.
Now, this piece of land is gradually being turned into a garbage site.
The headquarters project would have been constructed many years ago, but the US$100,000.00 donated to the PUL by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was squandered.
And during the latter part of the Sirleaf government, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives J. Emmanuel Nuquay ensured that a budgetary allotment was made in the 2017/2018 national budget.
Some initial clearing of the land began in late 2017 and preparations began at a slow pace for the start of the construction.
The umbrella organization of journalists was quick to put a roofing sheet fence around the parcel of land, but nothing was done beyond that and there was no activity for months later.
However, things again came to a standstill. With this site left abandoned again for months and most of the zinc gone, this Reporter has now established that the residence in the vicinity of the proposed PUL HQ are now turning the land into a dumpsite.
In an interview, Gayuo Banda a woman who sells cooked food right in front of the land said:
“I have been here from 2005 up to presence, every time people from the Press Union will come and ask us to leave telling us that they are ready for the construction but when we leave, nothing can be done on the land.”
According to her, authorities at the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) have visited the site on many occasions and have accused her of putting dirt in the area.
“Every time they came, they will accuse me and I can tell them that the place is not for me, but for the PUL,” the woman said.
“See how the place looks now, people came overnight and took away all the zincs that were here as you can see. The place is vulnerable to anything,” Gayuo said.
Meanwhile, PUL officials say everything is being done to begin the headquarters construction project very soon.
Mr. Daniel Nyakonah, the PUL Secretary General said in an interview this week that every document required to get the promised funding from the Liberian government has all been processed.
According to the PUL Secretary General, the Union has presented procurement documents to the Ministry of Finance and are waiting to hear from them anytime soon.
“We are expecting to get the money hopefully at the end of this month or very soon,” Mr. Nyakonah said.
An “ALL CLEAR” notice is being awaited from both from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Procurement AND Concession Commission (PPCC), in order for the PUL will put out bidding for companies interested in the contract of constructing the PUL HQ.
The institution is expecting another amount of over US$100, 000.00 from the Liberian government to have its headquarters constructed.
Since the PUL was founded on September 30, 1964, it has not been able to build its own headquarters, but has to pay thousands of US dollars annually on renting buildings in Monrovia.