MONROVIA, LIBERIA – The Concerned Disaster Victims of Liberia have raised serious concerns over alleged corruption at the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), which they say is under the leadership of Executive Director Atty. Ansu V.S. Dulleh. In a statement issued on March 24, 2025, the group called for President Joseph Boakai to suspend Dulleh while investigations by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) and General Auditing Commission (GAC) are ongoing.
The victims condemned the government for allocating over US$740,000 in the 2024 national budget for disaster relief, but lamented that none of this funding reached the victims themselves. According to the statement, despite the government’s allocation of US$100,000 for emergency response and US$500,000 for flood relief, the NDMA failed to take appropriate action. The victims also accused Dulleh of misreporting the achievements of his predecessor and criticized the agency for alleged mismanagement and misuse of funds. Dulleh, who is reportedly receiving a salary of over US$7,000 per month, has come under fire for his handling of disaster relief efforts, further fueling public disillusionment.
John Weah, Chairman of the Disaster Victims, issued the statement calling on the LACC to investigate the allegations and urging President Boakai to suspend Dulleh to restore public trust in the agency. This comes in the wake of serious allegations of financial mismanagement, procurement fraud, and corruption within the NDMA. Dulleh has been accused of failing to account for over US$1.3 million in public funds, with critics citing discrepancies in financial reports, manipulation of budget documents, and questionable procurement practices.
Prominent Liberian activist Martin K. N. Kollie has led the charge in exposing Dulleh’s alleged misconduct. Kollie provided detailed public statements outlining evidence that Dulleh had manipulated budget reports and inflated the costs of vehicles procured under his leadership. One of the most contentious issues surrounds the purchase of two 17-seater Force Traveller buses at a reported cost of US$81,000, a figure Kollie claims is grossly inflated. According to Kollie, similar buses purchased by other agencies, such as the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC) and the Oilers Sports Association (OSA), were acquired for just US$28,600 each, raising suspicions of a possible kickback scheme.
In addition to the inflated vehicle prices, Kollie highlighted that the buses were deemed “unfit for use” by the General Services Agency (GSA) in January 2025, raising further questions about the procurement process and the legitimacy of the transaction. Kollie also accused Dulleh of bypassing NDMA’s internal procurement processes, which would typically involve the agency’s Deputy Executive Directors for Administration and Operations, thus suggesting a deliberate effort to conceal irregularities.
The allegations against Dulleh do not stop there. Kollie also claimed that Dulleh submitted conflicting budget performance reports to the Legislature and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), in which he falsely attributed several achievements to his leadership. Dulleh, according to the reports, claimed responsibility for the development of a national disaster database, updates to the multi-hazard contingency plan, and a risk assessment on coastal erosion in Sinoe County. However, Kollie asserted that these initiatives were completed by Dulleh’s predecessor, Henry O. Williams, long before Dulleh took over at the NDMA.
Kollie’s allegations were further compounded by claims that Dulleh had misrepresented the NDMA’s involvement in the Early Warning for All Initiative. Dulleh reportedly stated that the NDMA had financed the project, but Kollie clarified that it was, in fact, supported by international agencies, including the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
