By Frank Sainworla, Jr. fsainworla@yahoo.com
It’s becoming increasingly clear by the day that the nearly one-year-old CDC government’s proven inability to come clean on issues and showcase transparency and accountability in the governance process are largely contributing to the flagrant attacks on the Liberian media.
Just to name a few: President Weah and his officials blatant violation of the Asset declaration law amidst demolishing of and construction of mansions in just months upon taking office on January 22, 2018; the probably phony Elton and Ebomaf billion-dollar deal linked to the
Burkinabaé private jet owner; deception over who pays for the reroofing of hundreds of homes in the Gibraltar neighbourhood on Monrovia’s Bushrod Island, where the Liberian leader grew up; the violation of the Act creating the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives (LEITI) by forcing former Lawmaker Gabriel Nyenkan down the throat of this integrity institution; the missing nearly 16 billion Liberian dollars saga.
Since news broke of the disappearance of more than 15 billion Liberian dollars last September, Liberian officials have been contradicting themselves one after another. And the media have been on top of the reporting from all sides of the story.
Information Minister Lenn Eugene Nagbe had earlier confirmed a local daily report of the printing and disappearance of excess bank notes which arrived through the RIA and the Freeport of Monrovia. He told the Voice of America after a September 17, 2018 confirmation by Liberia’s Justice Minister Cllr. F. Musah Dean in a press release he himself had signed.
The Information Minister said in fact the amount was more than 15 billion Liberian dollars which alleged disappearance was the subject of a major investigation. More than that, he said the missing banknotes were strangely printed in three countries—Sweden, South Africa and Lebanon.
Then came a piercing statement from Finance Minister Samuel Tweah on the local OK Fm radio later to say, people should disregard the account given by the Information Minister. In fact he said no money was missing, something that further raised eyebrows.
Playing their public interest role as watchdogs of the society and the Fourth Estates crucial in the building of any vibrant democracy, the local media reported, critically analyzed all the doings of government to the annoyance on the international football icon-turned politicians and his hinge men.
The Code of Conduct law on declaration of assets was flagrantly violated, as none of them declared their assets up to July 2018—nearly six months after taking office. Whereas the law mandates that it be done “prior to taking office.”
Without any law(s) to back his claim, Information Minister Eugene Nagbe and Montserrado County Rep. (CDC District #8) Acarious Gray miserably exposed themselves on a live Christmas Day 2018 phone-in talk show on Fabric FM, when the exact provision in the Code of Conduct was read in studio.
As they insisted that President Weah did not violate the law, the law was read:
From characterizing Journalists and media people as enemies of the state, anti President Weah/government, envious of the President, threats to weaponize the press, etc, the attacks have continued unabated.
“I am disappointed in Frank Sainworla this morning…. Frank Sainworla that I know very well has been anti President George Weah,” Rep. Gray said on the Christmas Day show. To add insult to injury was the flurry of leaked official vouchers/memos that surfaced largely released by Liberia’s leading investigative daily, FrontpageAfrica.
This is what Part 10.1 of the Code of Conduct says:
“10.1 Declaration of Assets and Performance Bonds
“Every Public Official and Employee of Government involved in making decisions affecting contracting, tendering or procurement, and issuance of licenses of various types shall sign performance or financial bonds and shall in addition declare his or her income, assets and liabilities prior to taking office and thereafter: a. at the end of every three years; b. on promotion or progression from one level to another; c. upon transfer to another public office; and d. upon retirement or resignation.”
Moving one step further in his attack on the private media (including the Managing Editor of www.newspublictrust.com), Montserrado County Representative District #8, Acarious Gray labeled this writer, FrontpageAfrica’s Managing Editor, Rodney Sieh and Sky FM’s Deputy Manager, T-Max Jlata as “opposition Journalists”.
Writing on his Facebook page on January 4, 2019, Rep. Gray said:
“Drastically engaged the
masses heath situation and their education, the likes of my friends Henry P. Costa, Rodney Sieh, TMax, Frank Sainworla, Alexander Cummings, Mary Williams, LP, UP, ANC, etc will all become mere oppositions with
nothing to say.
THE MASSES WILL CELEBRATE YOU FOR LIFE.
THE PEOPLE’S SERVANT!
CLEANING THE MESS!”
Coming in defense of the media, political activist from the opposition Unity Party, Boakai Jalaba reacting to the CDC Lawmaker attack by saying: “Journalists are not opposition to governments. They’re critics-wanting the best for the governed. For democracy to thrive, criticisms should form a fundamental bloc.”
And Rep. Gray, who is in President Weah’s inner-circle became even more forthright in his ranting and attack in a later post:
“I am not the rhetorical politician who want to polish my words when the facts are glaring. Those journalists I named are my friends and they could have never supported a Weah candidate and some were public opposition to our cause. They are opposition journalists and I hold no regrets because we have argued on many issues even before Weah got elected.”
This writer could not hold back his words in this succinct reaction to Rep. Gray’s post hours later:
“Representative Acarious Gray, it’s only been less than a year of this regime and I’m tempted to reflect on what the historian and moralist otherwise known as Lord Acton said: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” If you have really been following the Liberian media landscape from the years of war and peace time, you should well know by now who the man/Journalist behind the name, Frank Sainworla, Jr. really is through hell or high waters.Deactivate your overzealousness, Honourable man!!!”
Apparently taken off balance the CDC Lawmaker went on to say how long he has known the www.newspublictrust.com Managing Editor, bla, bla, bla:
“Frank Sainworla l have known you well as a big brother and do respect your courage, however the truth is that you are just among those that could never encourage a Weah Presidency at any point in your life and this you know that I know. Am not asking you to change your mind but when you go on air without any scientific statistics and say the Weah popularity has dwindled due to radio call in programs and not realising who the callers are than it beats my imagination. Not only that but those are the same opposition callers and you know this for sure. Why you also didn’t consider the avalanche deflection of partisans from the opposition to us my friend?
“You see I love you so much but will not sit to allow you make sweeping statements and you know for sure that there’s no change in me since I got power. Your theory of absolute power belongs to those of you who believe that you are the gods of the Liberian media. Media now is beyond the traditional methods and this is why we have the social media today to express our views outside of any censorship on your part. CLEANING THE MESS!”
From all indications, the missteps of this regime are catching up with them, as more of their transactions done without any specter of transparency and accountability are coming to light. And when these issues are investigated and reported and questions are raised in the media, President Weah and his officials including Rep. Acarious Gray and Finance Minister Samuel Tweah begin their tirade, without addressing the substance of the report/news stories.
One example is a story published in last Friday’s edition of FrontpageAfrica, “Pres. Weah’s Multi-Million Dollars Complex Nearing Completion”.
Instead of addressing itself to the substantive issue that Liberians are getting feverishly concerned about: Are these mansions his or not? Why is President Weah just doing all these investments that he did not do when he was making millions as a football star or when he was Senator for three years?
Instead, the Executive Mansion on January 2, 2018 accused FPA of “mischief, inciting the public” against Pres. Weah.
FrontpageAfrica again came under attack from the Liberian presidency, which claimed that the paper is engaged in “mischief intended to incite the public against the President by spreading falsehood.”
The Presidency “expressed dismay over a speculative story reported by the FrontPage Africa in its Monday, December 31 edition captioned, “Pres. Weah’s Multi-Million Dollars Complex Nearing Completion” in which the paper insinuated that the President is being interrogated by some international groups over some purported properties.”
The office of the Presidential Press Secretary neither confirmed nor denied that the properties in question were owned by President Weah, but claimed that FrontpageAfrica published the story without contacting anyone.
According to Liberia’s leading investigative newspaper, “President George Manneh Weah’s newly constructed multi-million-dollar complex in the Baptist Seminary community, off the Robertsfield Highway has begun raising more eyebrows with many Liberians still wondering how it was funded.”
The paper says construction of the monstrous 41-unit state-of-the-art structures began immediately after the President Weah was sworn into office in January 2018.
Prior to the commencement of the construction, the area was used as a football pitch by members of the community.
The President demolished his US$150,000 9th Street beachside property for reconstruction while at the same time renovating the Jamaica Beach property and building the RIA Highway complex simultaneously.
The Gibraltar homes reroofing deception
Indeed, the lack of transparency and accountability breed mistrust, suspicion, speculation and could even trigger tension in society.
Again, on the eve of Christmas (December 24, 2018), another revelation came exposing the deception about who was actually paying the bill for the reroofing of the Gibralta slum community. The government has not denied this.
Documents and vouchers leaked to FrontPageAfrica and reported show that the Ministry Finance & Development Planning approved over US$1 million for the re-roofing of 205 houses in Gibralta.
It has therefore now become clear why the tirade, attacks and threats on the media here.
Here is the background to the Gibraltar homes re-roofing deception. It was just over 100 days since he took office without declaring his assets as required by the National Code of Conduct law. Yet President George Manneh Weah has since been engaging in ventures such as the re-roofing of homes in the Gibralta community that are depleting his undisclosed assets by hundreds of thousands of US dollars.
Shortly after his inauguration, President Weah began demolishing one of his residences on the 9th Street in Sinkor, Monrovia, which his 2015 assets declaration form valued at US$150,000.00.
Then last month (April 23, 2018), the Liberian populist President visited the Gibralta slum settlement on Monrovia’s Bushrod Island, where he grew up and announced that all the homes/houses in the area will be reroofed with immediate effect this ongoing rainy season.
Hailed by many for remembering his root, President Weah expressed special love for people of this community, which plays host to many leaking homes that have not seen rehabilitation for decades.
“The arrangement will allow community dwellers to leave their respective homes and move to either a home of friend or family member for about five months to allow construction works take place before returning home,” the President said. “The project may go slow, but will not take more than five months to have every house in the community fully re-roofed for residents to return.”
During the visit, it was not immediately clear as to whether the project is a personal one or a officially-funded project in line with his CDC-government’s “Pro-poor” agenda.
But days later, Presidential Press Secretary Sam Mannah clarified that the re-roofing of all homes in Gibralta would be funded by President Weah from his pocket.
Mr. Mannah described the swift commencement of the project a day after the visit as a promise fulfilled by the President.
According to the LACC regulations, “The LACC shall issue Asset Declaration (AD) forms that shall be completed, signed, notarized and filed in accordance with Section 10.2 of the National Code of Conduct (NCoC) by all persons occupying the following positions: the Legislature, Judiciary and Executive—President, Vice President, cabinet ministers and other officials.”
Since President Weah has not taken the lead, the rest of his officials are yet to fulfill this legal mandate, although Information Minister Eugene Nagbe said some time ago that the President has not refused to comply but was putting his papers together.
The total number of houses to be covered by the reroofing exercise in the Gibralta community in Clara town is put at 400. This is something that would cost the pocket of the President quite a bit from his personal assets, which the Liberian people are yet to know. Neither do they know the liabilities of their 52-year-old leader.
Breakdown of the cost
Having undertaken similar reroofing (only replacement of the zinc) of my two-bedroom home in 2017, this Reporter is quite informed of such operation. One bundle of fairly durable alloy zinc costs US$75-85, with a two-bedroom house taking about six bundles of zinc.
US$75.00 multiplied by six bundles of zinc will cost at least US$450 per each home.
With the estimated number of houses/homes put at four hundred, it would cost President Weah a total of US$180,000.00, a price tag higher than one of his residences stated in his 2005 assets declaration submitted to the National Elections Commission.
The President 9th Street residence valued at US$150,000 has now been effectively wiped off the balance sheet, with the demolition of the building shortly after his January 22, 2018 inauguration. That means a total of US$330,000 will have been debited from the Liberian leader’s assets by the time the Gibralta roofing project is completed.
Regarding the cost of the workmanship for the roofing of each of the 400 houses, it would sum up to at least US175 per house, thus putting the total cost of workmanship/labour cost at US$70,000.00.
Therefore, the Gibraltar homes reroofing project is set to cost the Liberian leader at least US$400,000.00. But that will be if the work will include only replacing the roofing sheets. Given what is seen on the ground so far, the cost is however sure to be much higher, as work on some of the homes also include replacing the timber with new ones.
Now, with the duration of the reroofing project set for five months, one can safely conclude that the Gibralta venture plus President Weah’s demolition of his 9th Street residence will deplete his undisclosed assets by an estimated US$550,000.00 by July this year, the CDC government’s self-imposed deadline for declaration of assets by officials.
First Lady Madam Clar Weah said during the visit to Gibralta that the President remains appreciative and will never forget Gibraltar.
“In life as we progress, it is important to remember or to know where you came from and who you are.
“That’s basically what makes your President (George M. Weah), my husband special because he has not forgotten where he came from,” the First Lady said.
In Part 5 Section 5.2 (1) of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) Act of 2008 it is an “obligation to file asset declaration statements” by officials of government. And Part 3 of the LACC Final Regulation deems that it is an infringement for any official to refuse to submit asset declaration.
President Weah’s apparent reluctance to come forward with his asset declaration has sparked serious debates in many quarters, since in fact he has said that his CDC government would be a champion of transparency and accountability.
The Vice Chairman of the opposition Liberty Party (LP), Dairus Dillon, writing on his Facebook page recently urged President Weah not to delay further in declaring his assets.
“Mr. President, you need to declare your assets. The Law mandates that you do so. You took Oath to defend, protect and respect the Constitution and Laws of Liberia. Asset Declaration AFTER taking public office is LAW. Try to lead by example!” the LP executive said.
Even before his inauguration on January 22, 2018, the Deputy Chairman of the LACC, Cllr Augustine Toe reminded then President-elect George Manneh Weah that it is important that disclose his financial worth to the Liberia people when he took office;
Toe said on the private-owned Prime FM radio in Monrovia: “We call on the president-elect and the incoming government to show their commitment to this fight by declaring their assets.’’
The anti-graft agency’s Vice Chairman further said: “I want to encourage Weah to take the lead by declaring his asset and then make it mandatory for every official coming into government to declare their asset.
According to Cllr. Toe, “This will send a clear signal across the country that Weah has taken the lead.’’
Officials in all three branches of government are mandated to declare their assets.
But so far President Weah has not budge. Not even recent protest of a hunger strike by Liberian Activist Archie Ponpon was able to pressure the Liberian President to declare his assets.
After three days of hunger strike in front of the American Embassy in Monrovia, Popon collapsed and had to be rushed to hospital, where he recovered.