By Mark N. Mengonfia- mmenginfia@gmail.com
MONROVIA-The Deputy managing director of the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWCS) Deputy Managing Director for Finance, Sensee J. Morris is said to be jointly investigated by the National Society Agency (NSA) and the Liberia National Police (LPN)
The investigation of Mr. Morris is connection with the recent leaked audio and other confidential documents which the LWSC authorities says got to the public by him( Morris)
Addressing a press conference Tuesday, the Communications Manager at the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation, Nimpson Todd said Mr. Morris is apparently linked to the act due to what Todd described as, “personal greed.”
Todd said justified at the press conference that all the transactions for which the accused deputy manager and others and parading on social media and other platforms with are all legal financial transactions which went through all legal processing.
Holding a volume of document in his hand, Todd said the money in question was paid to Hydroconseil for consultant services for the detail feasibility study designed and preparation of stander document for the construction of civil mechanical works to improve the work delivery to Paynesville and parts adjacent.
He took the huge documents and said, “These documents was entered into as between LWSC and Hydroconseil.”
The contract according to him, was signed in August of 2019 and the payment was made in January 2020.
He added, ”LWSC was not a party” to the procurement process that brought the contract into force, adding, “not because we do not want to take, but because in keeping with the project implementation management policy World Bank projects , Water and Sewer does not have a direct interaction with operations.”
The LWSC Communication boss said the over US$99,000 in question was paid by the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of the World Bank- a unit that works with all of World Bank’s funded projects.
He was responding to leaked audio recordings which has placed the institution in the news and various social media platforms for all the bad reasons.
LWSC’s Managing Director, Duannah Kamara was heard in one of the recording heatedly arguing his deputy Morris- the subject of the NSA investigation over the withdrawer of some US$99,000 from a local bank account.
In that recording, Morris claimed that he halted the withdrawer of the fund because he was not aware of the transactions while on the other hand his boss, Kamara complained that Morris’ action has caught the attention of Finance and Development Planning Minister, Samuel Tweah and he (Tweah) was demanding answers.
The LWSC MD pushed his argument deeper by saying “Minister of Finance just got to me to raise his concern but I have authorized the payment already. And then the bank’s president is aware. So, we already authorized it. The Minister of Finance is aware; they just want to understand why it was stopped.”
Morris on the other hand told his boss not to put in him on grounds that he will not be afraid. “The Finance Minister himself can ask me, I will explain. I am not afraid of anybody. I can even tell the President “Morris told his boss in the leaked audio.
The leaked audios have soured the already bitter relationship the two heads of LWSC have had.
Morris and Kamara case is not the first of its kind for people in government cycle to lack into in-house fight; but with the ongoing probes into how the documents and other ‘confidential’ information escapes the LWSC office into the public could lead a way to government ministries and agencies properly manage classified information.
Alphonso Toweh
Has been in the profession for over twenty years. He has worked for many international media outlets including: West Africa Magazine, Africa Week Magazine, African Observer and did occasional reporting for CNN, BBC World Service, Sunday Times, NPR, Radio Deutchewells, Radio Netherlands. He is the current correspondent for Reuters
He holds first MA with honors in International Relations and a candidate for second master in International Peace studies and Conflict Resolution from the University of Liberia.
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