Liberia: Residents of Bong County to Protest Against ‘Controversial’ Company Hired to Renovate Superintendent’s Residence
The contract, which is valued at $144,000, was awarded to JEAMCO outside of the Public Procurement and Concession Commission (PPCC) and Public Financial Management (PFM) Laws.
GBARNGA, Bong County — Residents of Bong County are planning a mass protest against JEAMCO Incorporated Construction Company, the company unlawfully hired by Bong County Superintendent Hawa Norris to renovate and fence the superintendent’s residence.
The contract, which is valued at $144,000, was awarded to JEAMCO outside of the Public Procurement and Concession Commission (PPCC) and Public Financial Management (PFM) Laws.
The company, owned and operated by its chief executive officer, Jefferson M. Dennis, has a history of defaulting on several projects in Bong County, despite being paid by the county administration, including the renovation of the superintendent compound.
JEAMCO Construction Company was contracted by the erstwhile Project Management Committee (PMC) to implement five projects in Bong County pursuant to the County Sitting Resolution in 2018.
The projects were the Commissioner’s residence in electoral District One in Rock Crusher, Kokoyah Elementary School in Behweh Town, renovation of the superintendent’s compound in Gbarnga, and a clinic project in Ula Town, among others.
A FrontPageAfrica investigation showed that JEAMCO defaulted on all the projects the company was awarded by the county, including the renovation of the superintendent’s compound, which the received $50,000.
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On July 1, 2024, the Bong County Council Approved Superintendent Norris’s 100-day Action Plan budget. The budget contained $302,913 for projects such as the fencing of the Gbarnga Administrative Building $50,922, renovation of the superintendent compound US$144,000, and cultivating beans in the 13 administrative districts.
The decision by the county administration to award the contract to JEAMCO has sparked outrage in the county, with residents planning to protest against the company.
Jesse B. Cole, executive director of DELTA Human Rights Foundation, said it was sad to see the Bong County Council and the county administration award the contract to the same company that received $50,000 in 2020 with no work completed on the compound.
“During research by FIND, DELTA-HRF, and MACE-Liberia, JEAMCO Construction company did not respond to our [freedom of information] request up to today, even though they received money from the Bong County Account and has not given any account of said money,” Cole noted.
He added: “The audit report also proves this. Then, how can you, the County Council, and the Bong County Administration approve US$144,000 for the same renovation project with the same project without any bidding process announced?”
Cole called for a hold on the contract until the company could account for the $50,000.
“This here is business as usual, and if we all have to ensure that it’s not business as usual, the needful must be done, and all necessary information on this issue must be published,” he said.
The post Liberia: Residents of Bong County to Protest Against ‘Controversial’ Company Hired to Renovate Superintendent’s Residence appeared first on FrontPageAfrica.
