IPNews-Monrovia,Liberia-9 February 2018:Impeachable sources in Diplomatic Circles have hinted to the Independent Probe Newspaper that Liberia stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in aid from international donors from the United States Government, European Union, World Bank and the African Development Bank if the Management Service Contract the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) entered into with the Ireland-based ESBI Engineering & Facility Management Limited is tempered with.

According to the report, the acquisition of this Management Service Contract with ESBI is in full concert with the international agreement entered into between United States government and the Liberian Government in October 2015 in which the United States Government granted over US$250 million to improve the energy and roads sectors in Liberia. The European Union, African Development, KFW and other bilateral donors relied on the commitment the Government made in the international agreement to have a company with experience manage LEC when they decided to provide funds for the energy sector.

On Wednesday, February 7, 2018, the Management of the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), was summoned by the House of Representative to probe into the significance of granting the Management Service Contract (MSC) to the Ireland-based ESBI Engineering & Facility Management Limited.

During the meeting, Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) Board Chairman, Dr. Clarence K. Moniba, told the House of Representatives that Liberia will lose the more than US$120 million of the remaining funds of the United States government’s grant if the MSC contract is prematurely terminated.

Dr. Moniba told lawmakers that the Management Service Contract with the Ireland-based ESBI Engineering & Facility Management Limited that is being investigated on allegations of undermining the laws of the country but contrast to those acquisitions the company has not violated any of the country’s laws.

He informed the Representatives that in October 2015 a US$257 million international agreement was signed between the Government of Liberia and the United States government, through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). This international agreement was reviewed and ratified by the National Legislature and signed into law by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The Representatives were informed that the ratification of the agreement made it an international treaty between the two nations.

The $257 million grant is intended to encourage economic growth and reduce poverty in Liberia by focusing on the inadequate road infrastructure and access to reliable and affordable electricity in the country.

The program empowered the poor and promoted shared American values through a focus on improving land rights and access, increasing girls’ primary education enrollment and retention, and improving Liberia’s trade policy and practices.

He said several of the donors have informed him that any termination of the MSC will cause them to withdraw their stop aid because they have invested a lot in the energy sector due to the Government’s promise to commit to a MSC. This suspension of donor aid would be a major setback to the country.

Dr. Moniba, along with Mr. Monie Captan, CEO of the Millennium Challenge Account-Liberia, Ms. Krystle Cooper, MCA-Liberia Director of Private Sector Development; and Cllr. James A.A. Pierre, General Counsel of MCA-Liberia were in attendance in a Public Hearing with the House’s Joint Committee, chaired by Judiciary Committee chairman, Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa.

Dr. Moniba stated that out of the US$257 million, around US$110 million has gone towards the rehabilitation of the Mt. Coffee Hydro with about US$40 million left for that project. The balance of the US$100 million dollars or so is allotted to building a LEC training Center to train Liberian engineers, the building of a LEC Customer Service center, construction of roads, among others projects.

The witnesses in support of the MSC argued that issues raised by Montserrado County District #12 Representative Dixon Seboe about undermining the country’s laws regarding contracts and employees being exempted from tax, are part of the “treaty” signed between the United States Government and the Liberian government.

They further said Liberians who were previously managing LEC were part of an Interim Management Team (IMT) who all knew when they started that they were only managing LEC on an interim basis until the MSC was signed. All of the members of the IMT, except the former Acting CEO who accepted a buyout of his contract, remain at LEC.

They said capacity of local Liberian managers and staff will be done through a structured and comprehensive training and development program that will take place both in the country and in Europe and when the contract expires, the trained and experienced Liberian management team will be in place capable of assuming all aspects of the management of the LEC.

Regardless of those clarifications by the team from LEC, some members of the Joint Committee expressed dissatisfaction over the MSC, on allegation of exemption of contractors and employees from taxes and the replacement of Liberians by foreigners to accommodate the international agreement between Liberia and the United States. The complainant, Rep. Dixon Seboe, argued that the timing of the signing of the MSC suggests to him that it was done with sinister intentions. Mr. Captan responded that the MSC procurement involved the Liberian Government and its donor partners, the World Bank and the United States Government, so, as a member of the House of Representatives, to allege without proof that these donors who provide the amount of aid to Liberia that they do is not beneficial for the country.

Currently Liberia stands to benefit hugely from the USAID in its 2018 fiscal project exclusion of its FY 2018 of $15.4 billion in assistance that USAID fully or partially manages within the Economic Support and Development Fund, Global Health Programs, Transition Initiatives, International Disaster Assistance, and USAID operational accounts. The request supports the President’s “America First” vision, streamlining foreign assistance, and refocusing USAID programs to prioritize activities that clearly and directly advance U.S. national security interests, assert U.S. leadership and influence, foster economic opportunities for the American people, and ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability to the U.S. taxpayer.

Some members of the Joint Committee includes Representatives Adolph Lawrence, Francis Nyumalin, Larry Younquoi as well as the complainant Rep. Dixon Seboe.

The MCS is a three-year Management Service Contract with the Government having a two-year renewal option for the management of the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC).