PHOTO: Cllr. Kanio Gballah
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
The Liberia Anti-corruption Commission (LACC) headed by Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin is currently investigating its vice Chairperson, Cllr. Kanio Bai Gbala, following a news report published by Front Page Africa Monday, citing conflict of interest.
Speaking at a press conference today, August 30,2021, Cllr. Martin said, he convened an emergency meeting of the leadership of the commission early this morning do discuss the report and inform the Liberian people on the LACC stand.
The LACC boss informed journalists that the commission has commenced an investigation into this grave report that has the propensity to derail the progress they have made as a commissioner in the last weeks.
According to him, the division of investigation and enforcement at the LACC has been mandated by he(Martin) to move swiftly and investigate the matter beginning today.
FrontpageAfrica reported on Monday: “Sources and documents in possession of FrontPageAfrica (FPA) reveal that Cllr. Kanio Bai-Gbala along with the Managing Director of the National Port Authority (NPA), Mr. Bill Tweahway, the deputy Comptroller, Christian Brownell and Hamed Sikidi Fofana, the former Executive Director at the Central Bank of Liberia, established a company and allegedly used funds from the port and purchased a loading machine (966 Loader) for their company and awarded the loading contract to themselves.”
But in a mobile phone interview with the local OK Fm live phone-in talk show on Monday, August 30, 2021, the head of Communications at the National Port Authority (NPA), Malcolm Scott came in to the defense of his boss, Mr. Tweahway, distancing him from the Buchanan Port corruption scandal.
Mr. Scott denied that the NPA Managing Director is a shareholder in the company said to have been created along with Cllr. Gballah to allegedly siphon money from the Port of Buchanan.
At a formal Board of Commissioners meeting, the Vice chairperson submitted a Leave of Absence to allow investigation to proceed and said request was accepted by the LACC boss Edwin Kla Martin.
However, the LACC boss, Cllr. Martin says the NPA investigation is ongoing and that all those illegally involved are cooperating and those that have escaped under the cover of darkness will be extradited in keeping with law.
Cllr. Martin indicated that during the August term of Court, the LACC has indicted the following as a consequence of an investigative report from the GAC audit report.
The LACC boss has therefore called on the Press Union of Liberia, Civil Society organizations and the general public to aid the commission in driving it mandate through.