MINNEAPOLIS – The Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA) is requesting President Joseph Nyumah Boakai and his administration to provide clarifications surrounding the acquisition of the 285-earth moving equipment or “yellow machines” being brought into the country for the purpose of constructing and rehabilitating roads.
In a press release issued by the Secretary-General and Officer-In-Charge of ALJA, the Association says while it applauds the demonstrated commitment and dedication of the President and the Liberian government to making roads in the country pliable, they must do so in consonance with the principles of good governance, probity and utmost transparency.
In May 2024, Liberia’s Minister of State Without Portfolio, Mamaka Bility, at a cabinet retreat announced the acquisition by the Boakai administration, of 285 earth moving equipment for road construction and maintenance across all political subdivisions of the country but provided no clarification on the costs and mechanisms through which the equipment items were procured, something ALJA described as troubling.
Days following Minister Bility’s pronouncement, Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah dismissed the report of the acquisition of the earth-moving equipment as untrue and that there has been no deal on the equipment, terming the report as “far from reality”. However, On June 27, 2024, Mr. Piah contradicted himself when he announced the arrival of the first batch of the equipment at the Freeport of Monrovia.
In the wake of the government’s miscommunication and lack of proper information surrounding the process leading to the procurement of the machines, on July 6, 2024, Minister of State Without Portfolio Bility, along with some government officials took delivery of the first batch of the machines at the Freeport of Monrovia, at which time she informed Liberians that the rest of the equipment would be brought into the the country shortly.
ALJA frowns on President Boakai and the UP administration for the dearth of transparency and accountability in the accusation of the equipment and what seems to be their vehement disrespect for the public procurement and concessions laws of the country. The Association says it is unfathomable that President Boakai, who on January 22, 2024, promised Liberians that his administration would ensure transparency in government’s operations has now chosen to renege on that commitment.
The US based Liberian organization reminds President Boakai and his administration of their fiduciary responsibility to the Liberian people, and that they are under legal obligation to provide clarifications about how the machines were obtained.
The Association described as an irony, what seems to be attempts by President Boakai and his administration to indulge in the same acts of bad governance they accused former President George Manneh Weah and the CDC of committing in the past.
ALJA is a conglomeration of current and retired Liberian journalists residing in the Americas. It is a 501c (3) non-profit organization. The Association was founded in 1998 with the objectives of advancing press freedom through media capacity building, and the fostering of good governance in Liberia through media advocacy.
