——–As Liberians Demand Prosecution for previous Allocation without work or money trace
IPNEWS: For nearly sixteen years after fire gutted the 12 million United States dollars Executive Mansion, President George Manneh Weah is due to officially move to the Executive Mansion on 14 February 2022.
The government of Liberia during the reign of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf failed to restored the Executive Mansion to its pre-fire status even after numerous budgetary allocations were made without tangible results.
The was compelled to shut down its full seat for nearly 16 years following a fire disaster that occurred on the nation’s 159th Independence Day, 26 July 2006.
That incident then was attributed to “electrical fault,” occurred in the first six months of former President Mrs. Ellen Johnson – Sirleaf’s first six years term, and it led her to run the rest of her two terms at a temporary presidential office housed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Monrovia.
Now, following years of gradual renovation works, it is unclear what is the actual start date of the renovation but it has lasted for nearly 16 years with millions of United States Dollars spent under questionable circumstances which prompted an audit and Legislative investigation
Sources tell IPNEWS that Foyer of the Executive Mansion, the Office of the President and other key areas have already been completed. Other minor works are said to be ongoing yet in anticipation for February 14, formal restoration, bringing to an end operations at Ministry of Foreign Affairs that have been the seat of the President since 2006.
It may be recalled, on July 26, 2006, in the first 6 months of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf first term, the Executive Mansion was gutted by fire during the celebration of the country’s 159th Independence Day. The incident was attributed to electrical fault.
Following the incident on July 26, 2006, President Sirleaf then immediately sought temporary sheltered at the Foreign Ministry but ended up spending the rest of her first term and her second term there. The temporary relocation of former President Sirleaf at the Foreign Ministry was to create room for the renovation of the Executive Mansion but ended up spending 11 years, 6 months concluding her two terms at her temporary office. The same was inherited by her successor President George Weah in January 2018.
In early 2016, Mrs. Sirleaf General Auditing Commission (GAC) to conduct an audit into the Executive Mansion renovation project. Months later, the GAC in its findings, observed a waste of over US$10M on the Executive Mansion renovation project. The audit covers July 1, 2006 to December 31, 2015.
On December 9, 2016, former president Sirleaf confirmed that she had received the GAC audit report, but no action was taken
Unlike the Sirleaf regime, CDC government had pumped close to US$7 million into the Executive Mansion renovation project with visible realities of renovation leading to a formal resumption of Executive duties at the Executive Mansion.
In the 2020/2021 budget, the CDC allotted US5.5 Million and made a projection of a further one million US dollars for the same Mansion renovation for the 2021/2022 budget year. This is in addition to the previous millions allotted for the same project in the 2018/2019 budget.
On September 18, 2019, the House of Representative 7-member Special Investigative Committee released findings from a probe into the lengthy renovation of the Mansion, revealing that from FY-2008/09 and FY-2018/19, a total of US$ 33,492,101 had been spent on the renovation project. The period cover over 13-years.
“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 at the time.
The Committee was then chaired by Grand Gedeh County District #2 Representative George S. Boley, and also included representatives Jimmy Smith, J. Fonati Koffa, Robert F. Womba, Rosana Schaack, Acarous Gray and Tibelrosa Tarponweh.
With this, there are mounting questions whether the government of Liberia under President George Manneh Weah credited for this successful millstone will seek the accountability of former officials of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf government that allocated millions on this same renovation project without results.
The Executive was constructed from 1961 to 1964 with funding provided by the Israeli government, during the administration of ex-Liberian President William V. S. Tubman. (courtesy of New Dawn Newspaper)
