PHOTO: NPA Managing Director Bill Tweahway
SOURCE: Liberian News Agency
By Wilfred S. Gortor
MONROVIA– The Management of the National Port Authority (NPA) has with immediate effect suspended George D. McGill, Pier Supervision at the Port of Monrovia on accounts of his involvement in the authorization of the sail of the vessel Niko Ivanka, the Liberian News Agency (LINA) reports.
The NPA said McGill has been turned over for further probe to the Ministry of Justice, disclosing further that an internal investigation conducted, established that the suspended NPA employee without approval by the port management permitted the sail of the vessel which sank about six nautical miles off the coast of Marshall City.
It can be recalled that Niko Ivank, a locally registered vessel trading between the port of Monrovia and Harper departed the port of Monrovia for Harper on Saturday, July 17, at about 6:00 A.M. with nine persons on the crew list and nine employees of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) Monrovia Office who were onboard as passengers.
The vessel, sunk off the coast of Marshall City, however, an overnight search and rescue operation saved a total of 12 sailors while the carcasses of few others were washed to show. Until now, the vessel itself has not been recovered.
“George D. McGill is the Pier Supervisor at the Port of Monrovia, he, without the approval and notification of the management, allowed the sailing of the wrecked vessel. And so the NPA constituted an internal probe committee and the committee has established that he did that without the approval of the NPA,” said Malcolm W. Scott Director for Public Relations at the NPA when he addressed journalists at a press conference on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Mr. Scott has also disclosed that following internal review by the NPA management, the entity has turned over to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) the Manager of Buchannan Port Charles D. Gull and Chief Statistician Amara Kamara following their admittance to the commission of financial improprieties at the institution.
The two suspects, who were serving suspension and still serving suspension, according to Mr. Scott, have confirmed to internal investigators of the NPA to the commission of an act which entails the establishment of a bogus account.
The investigation, he said, began with an alert to NPA Managing Director Bill Tweahway, that the named individuals had opened and established an account and were remitting funds to said account illegally.
Earlier the NPA management in straight adherence to the entity’s administrative axe against any of its staff who may be found punishable for unscrupulous acts, announced the suspension of Gull and Kamara for what it termed as their involvement in alleged financial impropriety.
“The investigators have reported that the suspects have confirmed their actions and were begging for mercy, so the port is an institution that would not compromise the interest of what we do, what we called you to announce is that we have taken further steps, and the new action is that we are handing over these suspects to the LACC to conduct further probe into this matter”, noted Scott.