J.
Partick Kollie
Freelance
Journalist
Monrovia,
Liberia
pjkollie@gmail.com
Cllr.
James N. Verdier
Executive
Chairman
Liberia
Anti Corruption Commission (LACC)
Republic
of Liberia
October
4, 2015
Dear
Cllr. Verdier,
I
present compliments and write to bring to your commission’s attention several
irregularities leading to massive corruption in Gbarpolu County. As head of
Liberia’s anti graft institution, I think it is prudent and necessary to
investigate these allegations and bring those culprits to book. In my candid
opinion, this will help deter/minimize future corruption.
Recently, a syndicate
was uncovered by the new Gbarpolu County Project Management Committee Chairman
“Mr. Sam K. Zinnah” covertly linking several Government Officials to a company
that is believed to have defrauded Gbarpolu County of USD$300,000.00 United
States Dollars. The officials conspired and participated in affairs of an enterprise
through a pattern of forming a company to undertake contracts in Gbarpolu
County.
Communications in my
possession shows that Internal Affairs Deputy Minister for Administration, Hon.
Varney A. Sirleaf on June 23, 2015 wrote Gbarpolu County Superintendent Hon.
Armah M. Sarnor requesting the Superintendent to authorize the remaining 10%
retention payment in the amount of USD$29,875.00 (Twenty nine thousand eight
hundred seventy-five United States Dollars) in favor of Renewal Liberia
Limited, the company that fraudulently won the Bopolu City layout contract in
2012.
On October 13, 2012,
the then head of the Gbarpolu County Administration, Hon. Allen M. Gbowee in a
mass Gbarpolu County Citizens meeting in Bopolu City announced that Renewal
Liberia Limited was the winner of the USD$300,000.00 dollars City layout
contract.
After reviewing the
procurement process that led to the result in favor of Renewal Liberia Limited,
a citizen of Gbarpolu County Attorney Harris F. Tarnue filed a formal complaint
to the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission through the Commission’s
Complaints, Appeals & Review Panel (CARP) against the process. Upon receipt
of Atty. Harris Tarnue’s written complaint with all his supporting documents
attached, the PPCC’s CARP requested Superintendent Allen Gbowee to submit all
documents pertaining to the Bopolu City layout bid process in a specified time.
According to the CARP investigation report also in my possession, the following
list of documents was requested from Superintendent Gbowee.
1.
List of participating bidders and
qualification criteria
2.
Minutes of procurement committee &
bid opening meetings, including attendance record
3.
Bid evaluation Panels report/recommendations
4.
Bid evaluations criteria
5.
Finding of a review proceeding held upon
the complaint of Atty. Harris F. Tarnue
6.
Copies of the signed contract and
7.
Copies of bid advertisement and other
related document not specifically named herein.
The qualification requirement listed by
Superintendent Gbowee in the advertisement reads below:
-Current business registration
certificate
- Current valid tax clearance
certificate
-Ministry of Public works certificate
-Instant Financial statement
-Ability to pre finance per stage
-Past performance records/report,
including project title, Project location, Project value, client’s full
addresses and contact number(s).
The bid evaluation report and exhibit 5
of the November 2014 GAC report shows the below report:
MPW Certificate……………………………..not current
Pre-finance…………………..………………..50%
acceptable
Business Registration Certificate …………….
available
Tax clearance…………………………………..not current
Past performance…………………………...not
available
Cost of project………………………………...in range
of the estimated
Technical ability……………………………….equipment
and professional capacity limited
It was clear that the purported winner
of the bid was not qualified to take part in the bidding process but
Superintendent Gbowee, in total gross violation of the PPCC laws, defiantly
proceeded with allowing Renewal Liberia Limited to take part in the bidding
process
(See
GAC report, page exhibit 5). As if the initial gross violation was not
sufficient, Superintendent Gbowee in a continue defiance posture, awarded the
contract to Renewal Liberia Limited. The Chairman of the Gbarpolu County
Legislative Caucus attempted to intervene but was disrespectfully ignored by
Superintendent Gbowee.
After thorough investigation into the
complaint, the CARP ruled; “Therefore, it is the opinion of this panel that
respondent, the Honorable Superintendent of Gbarpolu County, Allen M. Gbowee
and his procurement committee violated all of the above cited provisions of the
PPCC Act and regulation No. 003 during the conduct of the tendering process of
EOI No. GBARC/NCB/001/12/13, and also failed to perform their functions in line
with section 27 (c) (d) (f) (k) of the Amended and restated PPCC Act of 2010 in
the conduct of the proceedings described above and the award of the works procurement
contracts to Renewal Liberia Limited. In view of the above, the panel hereby
upholds the contentions of the complainant that the procurement committee of
Gbarpolu County Administration headed by Superintendent Allen M. Gbowee grossly
violated the above cited provisions of the PPCC Act and its regulations during
the tendering process. Accordingly, the panel here by invalidates and reverses
the decision of the procurement committee to award contract for Bopolu City
layout to Renewal Liberia Limited. The Gbarpolu County Administration is hereby
ordered to re-run the procurement process with provision that those companies
that participated in the July 2012 procurement proceedings do not pay any
additional fees for participation”.
Despite the PPCC ruling, Superintendent
Gbowee defiantly moved on with the contract.
Conspiracy or Gross Incompetence
The above narration does not need a
rocket scientist to tell that the Bopolu City layout contract was in violation
of the PPCC Act. What remains a multi-million dollars question now is whether
Deputy Internal Affairs Minister for Administration Varney A. Sirleaf and
Internal Affairs Assistant Minister for Legal Affairs Hon. Losene F. Bility
(Esq) both conspired and participated in affairs of an enterprise through a
pattern of forming Renewal Liberia Limited to undertake the Bopolu City layout
contract or both are grossly incompetent to read and analyze the above public
documents.
An internal Memorandum (LFB/AMLA/) 91)
in my possession also reveals the legal opinion of Assistant Minister for Legal
Affairs Hon. Losene Bility (Esq). In his opinion dated May 12, 2015, Hon.
Bility writes, “In consonance with your
April 28, 2015 instruction to the Deputy Minister for Administration, Hon.
Varney A. Sirleaf, which was forwarded to me for legal advice, I have reviewed
the attached instruments and arrived at the following findings:
1.
That, the
project was successfully completed as same was dedicated during the July 26,
2013 Independence Day celebration in Bopolu City, Gbarpolu County by Her
Excellency, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia.
2.
That, the
assessment report of the Public Works Resident Engineer of January 28, 2014
certified the work
3.
That, the 1st
payment was made in April 2013
4.
That, the 2nd
payment was made in October 2013
5.
That, the 3rd
and final payment as retention was due in January 2014 but up till now is has
not been paid,
Wherefore
and in view of the foregoing, and coupled with the fact that the 3rd
and final/retention payment in the amount of US$29,875.00 is overdue, I advise
that same be paid in accordance with the terms and conditions enshrined in the
contract”.
Looking at the bid evaluation report and
exhibit 5 of the November 2014 GAC report, it is clear that Renewal Liberia
Limited did not have current Ministry of public works certificate, on what
basis did the Public works resident engineer assess the project?. Also, the
contract was attested to on behalf of the Finance Minister by the Gbarpolu
County revenue agent even though Renewal Liberia Limited did not have tax
clearance at the time of the bid. Again, on what basis did the revenue agent
affixed his signature to the contract?
I am urging the LACC to dig into the
motives of these individuals to make sure they too did not receive their share
of the $300,000.00. The GAC report revealed that the individuals who signed on
behalf of the Justice Minister and Finance Minister (because of the $250,000.00
threshold) were not the statutorily authorized individuals to sign the contract
but they still did. Could they have been influenced by unprofessional or unethical
token?
It is professionally amazing to read
such a legal advice that has absolutely no legal basis. In my view, the
Minister is either in a covert conspiracy or is grossly incompetent to know
that no contract exists between Gbarpolu County and Renewal Liberia limited.
How could this Legal Affairs Minister be so blind to the law he professes to
know?
Further investigation into Renewal
Liberia Limited’s activities reveals that most of the documentations were done
whenever the minister proper was out of the Country. The original contract that
was nullified by PPCC’s CARP ruling was signed by Hon. Varney A. Sirleaf,
Deputy Minister for Administration, Ministry of Internal Affairs. Payment
requests were always submitted while Hon. Varney Sirleaf was acting as
Minister. It was in one of their usual covert activities that PMC chairman Sam
K. Zinnah lunched a stink operation that unveiled this scam that is now raising
bunch of unanswered questions.
PMC
Chairman’s efforts
In a leaked package in my possession, it
is becoming crystal clear that someone is finally prepared to draw a thick line
between corruption and accountability. In response to what appears to be a
letter received from Gbarpolu County Superintendent Hon. Armah M. Sarnor,
Gbarpolu County newly elected Project Management Committee Chairman, Mr. Sam K.
Zinnah seems to be sitting pretty good and ready to battle or challenge the
legality of the Bopolu City layout contract. As such, he will need the full
support of the LACC to nail these corrupt activities in Gbarpolu County.
In a well written letter to Justice
Minister Benedict Sannoh dated June 28, 2015, Chairman Zinnah wrote:
“Cllr.
Sannoh,
I
present compliments and write to seek the advice of the Ministry of Justice
about the request for payment to Renewal Liberia Limited concerning a purported
contract for the layout of Bopolu City, Gbarpolu County.
On
July 20, 2015, I received a letter dated July 10, 2015 in which Superintendent
Armah Sarnor, acting on advice from Hon. Varney A. Sirleaf, Deputy Minister for
Administration, Ministry of Internal Affairs requested the Gbarpolu County PMC
to pay Renewal Liberia Limited the amount of USD$29,875.00 (Twenty nine
thousand eight hundred seventy five United States Dollars). Please see attached
letters regarding the request for payment.
Notwithstanding,
the request for said payment, my attention has been drawn to the June 6, 2013
ruling of the Public Procurement and
Concession Commission (PPCC) and the
November 2014 General Auditing Commissions report regarding the unlawfulness of
the above mentioned contract.
Hon.
Minister, the holding from the June 6, 2013 PPCC’s ruling reads as follows:
“The Panel hereby upholds the contentions of
the complainant that the procurement committee of Gbarpolu County headed by
Superintendent Allen M. Gbowee grossly violated the above cited provisions of
the PPCC Act and its regulations during the tendering process. Accordingly, the
Panel hereby invalidates and reverse the decision of the procurement committee
to award the contracts for EOI No.GBARC/NCB/001/12/13 to Renewal Liberia
Limited and Trans-Africa Trading Company. And that to ensure compliance with
the PPCC Act, the Gbarpolu County Administration is hereby ordered to re run
the procurement process with provision that those companies that participated
in the July 2012 procurement process do not pay any additional fees for
participating”.
A
finding from portion of the November 2014 General Auditing Commission’s report
covering the fiscal years 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 states “ The Gbarpolu County
Administration grossly violated the PPCC Act and PFM law in awarding the
contract. Also, despite a precept from the Public Procurement and Concession
Commission’s CARP, prohibiting the execution of the contract and ordering the
re run of the procurement process, the County Administration opted to ignore
the CARP’s ruling and preceded with the execution of the said contract at the
detriment of public resources”.
Also,
recommendation on page 16 of the November 2014 GAC report states “The Gbarpolu
County Superintendent, Allen M. Gbowee, Assistant Superintendent for
Development, Yassah Karmo-Fallah, the PMC Chairman, Desmond A.T. Boimah should
be held accountable for the USD$268,875.00 paid to the contractor for the
layout of the Bopolu City”.
It
is also interesting to know that the laws specifically requiring that the
Ministers of Finance and Development Planning and Justice to sign and attest to
contracts above$250,000.00 were ignored. According to the November 2014 GAC
report for fiscal years 2011/2012 & 2012/2013, the individuals who signed
the contract on behalf of the two Ministries were not the statutorily authorized
officials thus raising more credibility issues about this contract.
As
the newly elected Chairman of the PMC, it is one of my sworn in or oath
commitments to ensure that the resources of Gbarpolu County are expanded in
line with the laws of this Nation. I am seeking your advice in order to move
forward with the payment request”.
My investigation into the letter to
Minister Sannoh shows that the letter landed at the Ministry when Minister
Sannoh was out of the country. Fortunately, the letter with all the supporting
documents was forwarded to Cllr. Emmanuel Tulay, Deputy Minister for
Administration at the Ministry of Justice. It is interesting to note that Cllr.
Tulay served as legal consultant at PPCC and he presided over the PPCC ruling
that nullified the Bopolu City layout contract but he’s now very reluctant to
take action or decision against the violation of his PPCC’s CARP ruling. Could
there be another connection between the syndicate at Internal Affairs and
Justice?. Since the submission of the
June 28, 2015 letter to the Justice Ministry, Cllr. Tulay is yet to respond to
the letter thus raising additional unanswered questions.
Suspected owners of Renewal Liberia Limited
Since the emergence of Renewal Liberia
Limited, there have been many speculations in Gbarpolu County about the owners
of this suspicious company. According to the November 2014 GAC report, Renewal
Liberia Limited did not meet most of the important requirements for
participating in the biding process but the Company still won the bid which
later dragged in to PPCC court and resulted to cancelling of the contract.
Although the contract was nullified by the PPCC, payment of over US$268,800.00
to the Company was processed through the Ministry of Internal Affairs thus
raising more questions than answers about the powerful hands behind the
company.
It is widely speculated that Renewal
Liberia Limited is covertly owned by Deputy internal Affairs Minister for
Administration, Hon. Varney A. Sirleaf, and Gbarpolu County Senator Daniel
Naatehn. The status Of Hon. Losene Bility, Assistant Minister for Legal Affairs
is not too clear as he remains under close watch. Hon. Bility’s recent (May 12,
2015) legal advice in favor of Renewal Liberia Limited shares more lights on
his covert connection to this suspicious company.
In one of my many attempts to track some
of the fishy activities of Renewal Liberia Limited, I’ve been trying to
investigate how the earth moving equipments that were used by Renewal Liberia
Limited landed in the hands of the company. The equipments in question were
bought by Bokomu and Gou Ngolala Districts with the aim to undertake road works
in the two Districts but the machines have been in the Possession of Senator
Daniel Naatehn. Without the knowledge of the owners of the Mechines, a
purported rental contract was entered into between Messrs Alfred Morris and
Alex kpuway ( Chairmen of both districts development associations) and Renewal
Liberia Limited without the involvement and authorization of the local
authorities of the two Districts under the watch of Hon. Daniel Naatehn who served as the
custodian of the yellow machines and a dump truck purchased by the two
Districts from their share of the County Development funds thus shinning more
lights on Senator Naatehn’s connection to this suspicious company. After the illegal use of the two yellow
machines, the machines disappeared at the end of the layout project. To date,
only the dump truck is visible at Senator Naatehn’s House in Bopolu. The where
about of the two yellow machines remains an unsolved misery. As I pen this
letter, the people of Bokomu and Gou Ngolaila are gearing up to file a law suit
against the fronting General Manager of Renewal Liberia Limited, Mr. James Q.
Folokula.
If it is proven that the above named
officials are in any way beneficiaries of Renewal Liberia Limited, their action
will be total conflict of interest. I am of the strongest conviction that the
Liberia Anti Corruption Commission would be highly interested in digging out
the owners of this suspicious company as they anxiously wait to take care of
their final chopping from the US$300,000.00 contract.
It is also reported in the November 2014
GAC report that Renewal Liberia Limited owed over $12,800.00 in unpaid taxes to
Government thus constituting tax fraud and another form of corruption.
Deputy
and Assistant Ministers denied knowing about PPCC ruling & GAC report
In a August 6, 2015 edition of the
Frontpageafrica news paper sub caption “who wants Gbarpolu County 29K road
Money”, reporter Henry Karmo contacted Internal Affairs Deputy Minister for
Administration “Hon. Varney Sirleaf to get his view about the dubious
transaction. In Minister Sirleaf’s respond, according to reporter Karmo, Minister
Sirleaf claimed his instruction to the Gbarpolu County Authority to pay the
contractor (Renewal Liberia Limited/James Folokula) the remaining $29,875.000
United States Dollars was base on a legal advice from Assistant Internal
Affairs Minister for Legal Affairs, Hon. Lusene Bility. Minister Sirleaf Also
claimed that he had no knowledge that the PPCC had ruled in the awarding of the
contract. He claimed that the PPCC ruling was not communicated to him when he
wrote the Gbarpolu County Administration about the ten percent retention
payment.
When contacted, Internal Affairs
Assistant Minister for Legal Affairs, Hon. Luseni Bility claimed that he too
was not aware of the PPCC ruling and the GAC report. He pushed that it was only
fair to pay the last money since the first and second payments were done.
Minister Bility’s legal advice further exposes him to either conspiracy or
gross incompetence. Since the August 6, 2015 frontpage Africa publication, the
two ministers are yet to write to withdraw their letter of authorization.
Fake
names on Renewal Liberia Limited’s article of incorporation
A copy of the article of incorporation
of Renewal Liberia Limited in my possession shows that most, if not all, of the
names listed on the article of incorporation are fake names. Further
investigation reveals that one of the names listed is that of Gbarpolu County
Senator Daniel Flomo Naatehn, Sr. Last month I traveled to Senator Naatehn’s
District to verify some of the names and identity shown on the ID cards that I
could lay my hands on. A particular name “Flomo D. Kpailee, Sr was pointed out
by many to be the traditional name of Senator Daniel F. Naatehn, Sr.
In my opinion, it is the right of
Senator Naatehn and any Gbarpolu Citizen to form company and create or provide
employment for Gbarpolu Citizens but doing it with fake identy(ies) creates
suspicion. The following names are listed on the Renewal Liberia Limited
article of incorporation.
1. James Q. Kpaihn
13% share
2. Mulbah K. Zinnah
10% share
3. J. Sando Momo
20% share
4. Flomo D.
Kpailee, Sr 20%
5. Quaye Kogo 12 %
I am urging LACC to please invite the
General Manager of Renewal Liberia Limited, Mr. James Q. Folokula to produce
all of his share holders for questioning. I believe this will help eliminate
the suspicion of questionable identies.
Hon.
Allen Gbowee continuous defiance
Sometime in October of 2014,
Superintendent Allen Gbowee and Development Superintendent Yassah Karmo-Fallah
were dismissed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The two, in a continuation
of their defiance, drove away with the government assigned vehicles. As I pen
this letter, they are in possession of the GSA coded and assigned vehicles.
Further investigation shows that they are still receiving pay while they are
out of government. One source from the office of Senator Daniel Naatehn
disclosed that “as long as Senator Naatehn remains the most powerful Senator in
Gbarpolu with the backing of Hon. Varney Sirleaf, he will do whatever he
wants”.
Cllr. Verdier, after all the above
analysis, I humbly beg your commission’s indulgence to swiftly probe into these
grief alleged malpractices. Am quite sure that bringing the culprits to justice
will serve as deterrence for would be dowers.
Yours,
J. Patrick Kollie
Citizen, Gbarpolu County