Using “covert operations” as the pretext, Mr. Weah put at least USD 122m at the disposal of his NSA Director and agents, without regards to the Annual Budget law or the NSA Act[1]. And between the periods of 23-Februry-2018 and 11-December-2023, Mr. Henric Pearson II, working in collaboration with and under the direction of Mr. George Weah, then President of Liberia, made at least 227 individual transactions in which they took bags to the CBL, stuffed it with cash and simply walked out the Bank’s door. Not one cent of that money was ever accounted for
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Many of the activities observed in the audit constitute grave violations of our financial laws and, in other instances, amount to felonies when proven. For example, violation of the procurement law, failing to remit tax deductions, and making payments without a contract… are all acts that could amount to felonies. …The Senate leaders cannot just say: “Oh, it’s just a glitch; let’s move on.”
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Liberia has other political voices, which, for now, are operating on the fringes. Frequently, they are derisively called the “one percenters” – a poignant reminder of the dismal performance of some well-regarded candidates in the 2023 elections when they failed to cross the one percent threshold. However, given that the “99 percenters” are actively destroying Liberia, it behooves the “one-percenters” to get their act together. If they don’t, this unfortunate reality will continue ad infinitum
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Mamaka Bility, notwithstanding these laws and the Constitution of Liberia, in collusion with others, and with the apparent acquiescence and approbation of the President of Liberia, Mr. Joseph N. Boakai Sr., illegally negotiated the dubious USD 80m deal and caused the machines to be brought to Liberia in contravention of the all the listed statutes and the Constitution. In her attempt to get as big a kickback as she could get, it did matter to her the land mass of each county or the estimated population; each county was entitled to nineteen machines
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There are many reasons why Liberia is poor. Let’s start with the salary of GOL officials. The average VIP salary, as seen from Table B above, is about US $200k per annum. A lawmaker in China’s Congress will need to work for at least ten years to make one year’s salary of the average top GOL official. But it is the GOL officials that go to beg the Chinese for alms, for grants, and loans.
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By Wonderr K. Freeman, Attorney, CFCS About a month ago, I wrote the article: Liberians must demand a new constitution before 2029 to end the naked greed of the budget mafia clan (https://wonderrfreeman.com/liberians-must-demand-a-new-constitution-before-2029-to-end-the-naked-greed-of-the-budget-mafia-clan/law-governance/07/). It’s been exhilarating to hear chatters in the media about the need to relook at our Constitution. However, in these chatters, I frequently find that ‘constitutional amendment’ gets mixed up with the call
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For your information Nyonblee-Dillon, Fonati-Fallah, Liberia has systems in place. We have a constitution, statutes, regulations and institutions to enforce and implement our laws. It is you, our political leaders, who refused to follow the laws and systems that are already in place. So, you think that when you say “systems audit”, then you will be let off the hook. As you envisage in your limited understanding, with a “systems audit”, you can just say: “Okay, our corruption is no big deal; it’s just some little systems issues that we are going to fix soon!
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This extreme greed and dysfunction have been part of our political culture for a long time and were significant contributing factors to our civil war. The fact that the civil war, notwithstanding, this very malfeasance continues to haunt Liberia shows that something more fundamental is at play. That something more fundamental is what I am now giving name to. It’s the failure of our 1986 Constitution
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As if all the violations already discussed were not enough, Mr. Boakai decided to trample upon the Constitution and trash it totally by bringing into the country several million [USD] dollars’ worth of earth-moving equipment (known locally as “yellow machines”). He’s signed a self-incriminating letter to our National Legislature to let them know that, in fact, it is not just Ministers Mamaka Bility and Mr. Sylvester Grigsby who are engineering this illegal deal, but that he is fully complicit.
Find related articles hereBy. Wonderr K. Freeman, CFCS Whenever counting and naming are mentioned in the same sentence, it is not surprising to have a flashback to the old Christian hymn with lyrics: count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Feeling my “preacherman” vibes, I choose to reflect on this Christian hymn and mention “counting and naming”
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By: Wonderr K. Freeman, CFCS The current Liberian government is on the move – seeking investors. So far, the President, Mr. Joseph Boakai, has been to the USA, Guinea Bissau, and South Korea. First off was the US-Africa Business Summit held in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, from May 6-9, 2024. I heard Mr. President tagged along a very high-powered delegation to the conference and gave a very
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Author: Wonderr K. Freeman Like many countries, Liberians love rice. They can have it all day, several days, without complaints. But lately, the price and supply of rice have been shaky. The local price for rice has been stable for the past several years at $17 per 25kg sac. Lately, however, with 75% of the rice supply in Liberia coming from abroad, it’s like Liberia will
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By: Wonderr Koryenen Freeman If there were a “World Cup” for telling parables, maxims, and proverbs, this would be hands-down back-to-back trophies for Liberia. For the typical Liberian, telling parables is how we make sense of our less-than-enviable lives. So then, when the Liberian man asks, “When chicken white?!!”, … the listener or the audience aptly responds…”Ay white” (i.e., it’s white). This parable, “When chicken white…it’s
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By Wonderr K. Freeman On April 24, 2024, The Supreme Court of Liberia ruled that article 56 of the Liberian constitution is no greater than article 89. The Court, in their wisdom, opined that just as article 56 gives the President the power to appoint [officials], article 89 equally gives the Legislature the power to create additional agencies of government and ascribe unto them powers in
Find related articles hereby Wonderr K. Freeman & Marc N. Kollie Over the past years, as regime in Liberia shuffled between Unity Party (UP) and the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the country has long been rocked by many corruption scandals – often flagrant and unconscionable. So many corruption cases, but very few cases of accountability[1]. In many cases (and on a sad note too), the culprits have been
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Back to the “Imperial Presidency”: Unity Party’s Unsavory Assault on Ellen Sirleaf’s Defining Legacy
By: Wonderr K. Freeman, Attorney, CFCS In Africa, it is common practice to see a leader purposely trying to undo the legacy of his/her predecessor. Often, that happens when an opposition leader takes the helm of power. If anything spells the legacy of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s presidency, it is the plethora of government institutions whose officials were given fixed contractual terms (a.k.a. tenure). This was one of
Find related articles hereBy. Wonderr K. Freeman, CFCS Whoever thought Alex Tyler, the man widely derided in Liberia as Corruption King King, would resurface in Liberia’s political structure? Yeah Alex Tyler, you heard me right, the man from “Oil Block 13 consultations” and the same man from “BigBoy 1 & BigBoy 2 [mining license] scandal”. Alex Tyler, a real “gbanna man” has been forging and reforging alliances to just
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By Wonderr K. Freeman, Attorney, CFCS Originally Published in March 2023 Liberia is awash with talks about Joseph Nyumah Boakai’s pick of running mate. As the logic goes, once Mr. Boakai chooses his deputy, then the election is over. That’s the popular refrain, though pushed around without any “polling data” to back up this claim. I’m not one of those who think so. By the way,
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It is now common knowledge that Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have opted to create a rival regional economic bloc, comprising of at least 73 million people -with a combined GDP of nearly USD $60 billion . Effectively, this bloc is a 60 billion-dollar market splintering from ECOWAS. This is not something for the regional bloc to waive. But why are they splintering?
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What George Weah and others did in the name of “covert operations” is fraud and theft on the grandest scale. No one should be able to misuse and abuse US$178m of GOL funds and walk away with impunity. If truly no one is above the law, then Mr. Weah and his accomplices at the NSA, MOS, EPS & FIA must be charged and prosecuted in keeping with law. This is not asking for much. This is simply asking for the due process of law to take its logical course.
Find related articles hereThe national budgets in Liberia have consistently failed to benefit the people, instead primarily benefiting a small group of political elites. For example, both former Presidents Sirleaf (Unity Party) and Weah (Coalition for Democratic Change) touted their budgets as significant achievements for the nation, highlighting initiatives like the Poverty Reduction Strategy and the Pro-Poor agendas.
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Keynote Address at the Commemoration of the 2nd Triennial Convention and the Celebration of the 6th Anniversary; Theme: “Decent Work Through Unionization” By Tiawan Saye Gongloe, on October 4, 2024 at 11:30 AM Government officials, leaders of the National Union of Hospitality, Aviation, Communication, and Energy Workers, other union leaders, distinguished guests, members of the 4th estate, ladies and gentlemen: Before going any further, allow me
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