NEWS ANALYSIS By Frank Sainworla, Jr, fsainworla@yahoo.com
Monrovia- What is seen as a stream of deception and insincerity have marred some public pronouncements as to who foot the bills of “personal projects, ever since Liberian President George Manneh Weah and his CDC government took office nearly four years ago.
They began back in 2018 with the re-roofing of over 200 homes in the Gibraltar community in the Clara Town suburb of Monrovia. At the time, the new Liberian leader declared that he would personally pay for the reroofing of the private homes to give back to an area he grew up; before becoming the multimillion dollar international professional footballer before becoming President on January 22, 2018.
While in opposition for 12 years, Weah and his CDC party were always on the back of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her Unity Party government for what they said was the lack of transparency and accountability.
One of the cash cow projects their eyes were on was the marathon Executive Mansion renovation project, which had then already swallowed tens of millions of US dollars. Back in January 2020, President Weah declared at the Legislature that the Executive Mansion was “nearing completion” and that it would have been completed “at the end of that year (2020)”
As he made the promise that the Mansion renovation will be completed in the first half of 2021, his CDC government has pumped close to US$7 million into this cash cow project.
FLASHBACK: Weah breaks grounds for Park
Upon taking office it was the promise to personally reroof over 200 private homes in Gibralta amounting to over US$200,000.00 and now it is his personal “Invincible Sports Park” project costing the national coffers half a million US dollars.
US$4M in the 2022/2023 budget for Executive Mansion renovation
With just two weeks to 2022, the Mansion is yet to be completed and the Weah government has placed another US$4 million in the 2022/2023 draft national budget currently be debated by Lawmakers and almost for certain to be passed into law.
Also in this budget, millions of US dollars have been allotted for the President’s office in under the Ministry of State.
Also, US$700,000.00 is allotted for what is called “humanitarian outreach, which is up from previous allotment of US$350,000.00 in the current budget. Presidential foreign travel gets close to one million US dollar-US$889,855.00; while foreign travel-Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) gets -US$1.845 million of tax payers’ money.
The Executive Mansion, official seat of the Liberian Presidency, was gutted by fire on July 26, 2006, months after former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took office after winning the October 2005 election.
By the time she had left office on January 22, 2018, the renovation works had still not been completed, although her government had pumped nearly many millions of US dollars into the cash cow project.
No one held accountable
On September 18, 2019, a 7-member Special Investigative Committee of the House of Representatives released findings from a probe into the marathon renovation of the Mansion, disclosing that it had confirmed that, despite enormous sums of money (US$33,492,101) spent on the renovation project over a 13-year period, the Executive Mansion remains in a state of disuse.
“No one has been held accountable for his or her conduct in the misapplication of the national resources expended, to date for the 13-year-old ongoing project of the Executive Mansion,” the House special committee said.
The Committee chaired by Grand Gedeh County District #2 Representative George S. Boley, also included representatives Jimmy Smith, J. Fonati Koffa, Robert F. Womba, Rosana Schaack, Acarous Gray and Tibelrosa Tarponweh.
So, in the absence of an audit since his CDC government took power, Weah, “the Country Giant” continues his predecessor’s cash cow Executive Mansion project that never ends. To date, the independent media have never been taken on a guarded tour of the facility. And neither have the Liberian public been told how the millions are being used and to do what specifically.
GAC Audits on discrepancies
Yet still the renovation is yet to be completed, as previous audits by the General Auditing Commission (GAC) from the Sirleaf’s era pointing to discrepancies.
“Going forward,” the GAC recommended that, “the managements of the MOS and MFDP should ensure that all payments made from the escrow account are made for the project activities.” https://www.gac.gov.lr/auditDoc/AGs%20Report%20on%20the%20Renovation%20of%20the%20Executive%20Mansion%20By%20the%20MOS.pdf
Whether the renovation of the Executive Mansion will indeed be completed in the middle of 2021 or not, the reality has certainly show that the marathon renovation project has turned out to be a cash cow, with tens of millions of taxpayers’ dollars being spent on one renovation in so long a period.
As Grand Bassa County District #4 Representative, Vincent Willie said in the House Plenary back in August 2019: “We can consider it as political dragon that is eating the Liberian people’s money.”
Between FY-2008/09 and FY-2018/19 a total of US$ 33,492,101 was budgeted by the government of Liberia for renovation process, says the House of Representatives Specialized Committee set up to probe this controversial project.
This is being increasingly seen as a peculiar renovation project. Since the fire outbreak on one floor at the Executive Mansion, China has since started from scratch a range of huge building construction complexes and completed in and outside Monrovia. They include the huge University of Liberia Fendall complex, the two annexes at the Capitol Building, the Jackson F. Doe memorial hospital in Tappita, Nimba County, the huge Ministerial complex in Congo Town, etc.
US$500M Gov’t funds for “Invincible Sports Park”
Another clear sign of lack of transparency, deception and insincerity has come with the “Invincible Sport Park” project started and nearing completion near the James Spriggs Payne Airfield in Monrovia’s Sinkor suburb.
When he broke grounds for this private project in early February 2020, this is what President Weah said:
“I want you to know that I am developing the place as a public sports park as my personal contribution to the inhabitants of this area because this place prepared me to achieve in soccer.”
State radio ELBC also reported at the time: “President Weah said the construction of the Sports Park is his own way of giving back to the area where he began his football career before going on to win the World Best title.”
His Minister of State Without Portfolio, Trokon Kpui further said that the construction of the Park is under President Weah’s flagship program, and thanked his boss “for paying back to the community where he began his football career, and called on the community dwellers to take ownership of the project.”
However, what was initially pronounced to have been a personal project has ended up being a burden on the national fiscal envelope, as US$500,000.00 or half a million US dollar is being allotted in the 2022 budget to pay for the dream of the international football icon-turned President.
Well, many political analysts are seeing this as the latest act of deception by the CDC Standard Bearer.
“I played at the Sinkor Airfield where Invincible Eleven, my club, practiced and I became the best in the world of Football. I believe with the development of the area, we can have more Ballon d’Or winners like me,” Liberian News Agency (LINA) quoted President Weah as saying on February 9, 2020.
But this raised more questions than answers. Why didn’t he do this when he made millions from professional football? Why didn’t he do this until becoming President, as his Finance Minister Samuel Tweah once boasted that he was a professional player who was valued over US$80 million?
Gibralta re-roofing project deception
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.
On April 23, 2018, the Liberian populist President visited the Gibraltar 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 an officially-funded project in line with his CDC-government’s “Pro-poor” agenda.
But days later, Presidential Press Secretary Sam Mannah clarified that the reroofing 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.
However, that promise ended up being fulfilled not from the pocket of the President but from the national coffers as seen in a leaked voucher from the Finance Ministry.