MONROVIA – Public Works Minister Roland Layfette Giddings has renewed calls for a General Auditing Commission (GAC) probe into East International Group, the firm awarded major road contracts during the administration of former President George Weah, saying the audit is necessary to protect public funds and to determine whether previous contracts met technical and legal requirements. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, November 18, 2025, Giddings said, ‘The delay is because we asked the GAC to conduct an audit on East International who was contracted by the past administration to do the road,’ linking the stalled Roberts International Airport (RIA) road works to the ongoing scrutiny.
Giddings stressed that his ministry is not opposed to private or foreign contractors working in Liberia, but that such work must have “100% approval from the Ministry of Public Works” before commencement. “We are not preventing anyone from building bridges and roads, but you must have 100% approval from the Ministry of Public Works before starting such a project,” he said, adding that the policy has been applied across government agencies. The minister framed the GAC request as part of broader efforts to enforce procurement rules and safeguard infrastructure quality.
East International’s RIA contract, one of the highest-profile infrastructure awards of the Weah era, has been the centrepiece of controversy in recent years after the project encountered delays, safety complaints and criticism over procurement transparency. President Weah broke ground on an “ultramodern” RIA highway that was to be executed by East International Group in partnership with other firms, and the project’s scale and cost drew intense public scrutiny soon after its launch.
Allegations linking senior officials of the ex-CDC administration to East International have persisted in Liberia’s press and political discourse. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in August 2022 sanctioned three senior Liberian officials for alleged involvement in public corruption; among those named was Nathaniel McGill, then Minister of State for Presidential Affairs. The OFAC designation intensified media attention on procurement decisions made while the CDC was in power and on firms that received large government contracts.
Nathaniel McGill has publicly denied any ownership or improper ties to East International. In 2022, he authored a letter to then-President George Weah in which he strongly rejected accusations that he manipulated public procurement to steer multi-million-dollar contracts to companies he owned, specifically citing the US$116 million RIA road contract with East International. He wrote, “My ownership in East International as alleged is false and misleading. East International was in existence around 2011. I do not see how the sitting chairman of the CDC, that is, myself, would have ownership.” Those denials have not, however, ended calls from civil society and some legislators for fuller investigations into how contracts were awarded and how project funds were managed.
In the same letter, McGill addressed other serious allegations, including claims that he rigged bids, received kickbacks, or abused procurement processes. He defended himself by stating that he did not preside over negotiations or sign contracts, questioning how he could have received kickbacks if he was not directly involved in the signing chain. Likewise, East International’s General Manager, Jakona Kelvin Buima, publicly stated that McGill has no stake in the company.
Parliamentary and watchdog scrutiny followed the complaints. In past years, Liberian lawmakers opened inquiries into the RIA contract process, questioning the award procedures and financial arrangements with East International. Critics argued the company lacked a documented track record for projects of the RIA road’s magnitude when the contract was awarded, a charge that East International and its supporters denied, while others pointed to alleged gaps in oversight that should prompt formal audits.
Environmental and safety concerns have also compounded the controversy. Media reports and environmental agency notices accused project works along the RIA corridor of causing dust hazards and unauthorized wetland backfilling at different points in the project’s implementation, incidents that drew community complaints and regulatory scrutiny. Those episodes strengthened the argument by Giddings and others that independent verification and accountability mechanisms, including a GAC audit, are necessary before work resumes in full.
Giddings used the press briefing to set out his ministry’s construction timetable while emphasizing accountability: he said the RIA road is expected to be completed in 2027 once the audit and clarifications are concluded, the Gbarnga–Salayea segment will be finished by January 2026, and paving on the southeast corridor from Ganta to Fish Town will commence in the coming dry season. “We have the funding to cover the entire corridor from Ganta to Fish Town, and pavement will commence this dry season,” he said, noting that multiple firms will be deployed to speed completion.
If the audit uncovers irregularities, it could prompt contract renegotiations, demands for restitution, or legal proceedings; if it clears East International, the company could regain momentum on stalled works. For critics of the Weah-era procurement decisions, however, the audit represents an overdue look at how large-scale contracts were granted and whether public interest was adequately protected.
As the GAC request unfolds, questions remain about transparency, institutional capacity and how Liberia will balance the urgent need for infrastructure with robust oversight. For now, Minister Giddings has signalled that the Public Works Ministry will not rubber-stamp prior contracts and is prepared to let independent audit findings guide the next steps for the RIA project and other contested works tied to East International. The audit’s findings and the responses from East International, former CDC officials, and oversight bodies are likely to shape public debate over infrastructure governance in Liberia for months to come.
