MONROVIA – Ambula Mamey, a political analyst, has raised serious allegations regarding the management of public funds in the construction of a five-storey building by the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), claiming that millions of dollars were disbursed to a contractor under suspicious circumstances.
In a detailed commentary, Mamey said that NOCAL signed a contract on July 13, 2023, with BMC Group of Companies for US$2,913,857 to construct the building. Just four days later, on July 17, unusual payments were made to BMC. “They gave 50% of the money to the contractor immediately after signing, and when the contractor had not put one crushed rock on the ground,” Mamey said. According to him, NOCAL issued Check No. 759828 for US$728,464.42 at 9:00 a.m., and two hours later, Check No. 759829 for the same amount, totaling US$1,456,928.84, half the project’s total cost.
Mamey noted that on the same day the checks were issued, BMC withdrew the entire amount in cash from SIB Bank, raising questions about the handling and oversight of public funds. “You already know, but read the details below,” Mamey said, emphasizing the irregularity of the transactions.
The situation, he said, became more concerning following Liberia’s November 2023 elections. On November 17, Joseph Boakai was declared the winner, and George Weah, the outgoing president, had instructed all government agencies to restrict spending to no more than US$10,000 without his approval. Despite this, NOCAL adjusted the BMC contract on December 15, 2023, less than a month after losing the election, to add an additional floor at a cost of US$1,592,518, increasing the total contract value to US$4,506,375.
Mamey revealed that on the same day the contract amendment was signed, NOCAL CEO Saifuah Gray authorized two more payments to BMC, US$496,259.38 and US$300,000, both of which were immediately withdrawn in cash from SIB Bank. He suggested that the rush to withdraw funds indicated an attempt to access public money before the transition of power.
By inauguration day in January 2024, Mamey said that BMC had received US$2,253,188.22, yet the building appeared far from matching the project’s reported value of US$4.5 million. “That building doesn’t look like a 4.5M project,” he stated. Mamey added that current NOCAL management is still funding the construction, as a significant portion of the initial disbursement was allegedly shared by officials of the Weah administration.
The revelations by Mamey have intensified calls for a full audit of NOCAL’s expenditures and closer scrutiny of government contracts to ensure accountability and prevent misuse of public funds.
