IPNews-Monrovia,Liberia-14 June 2018:Authorities of the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC), has suspended several project managers and procurement staff for time indefinite without pay, pending an investigation into the failures and delays of the Weala Water System and the Slipway Reservoir project, according to a press statement.
According to the release, the officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Robertsport office, Grand Cape Mount County (not named), who was implicated in the “unauthorized” connection of customers, is also suspended for one month without pay.
Acting managing director, Dan K. Saryee, said the decision in consultation with the Managing Director Duanah Kamara and his principal Deputy Momo Moseray, is to improve service quality and ensure greater accountability to the Liberian people.
The corporation has meanwhile instructed the Human Resource Director to withdraw all the institution’s assets in the possession of those suspended with immediate effect.
“This management shall not condone any act from whosoever that translates in denying the Liberian people ‘life’ (water) and the wasteful application of resources entrusted to the corporation,” Mr. Saryee emphasized.
The statement recalled that a week ago, the management sanctioned some investigations into the failures and delays of the Slipway Reservoir and the Weala Water System project.
The projects were financed by taxpayers’ money under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s administration to address the acute water situation in central Monrovia and in Weala community, Margibi County, he said.
Mr. Saryee stated that the Slipway project, which is valued at US$267,147 has been financed up to 85 present, but work is stil in final stage at 30 percent, while the Weala project spent a total of US$456,000.
According to Saryee, the project team and the then director for technical services, declared the two projects completed, “but in reality, they are still in a disgusting state with 35 percent complete and constructed with inferior materials.”
However, Mr. Saryee detailed the officer-in-charge (OIC) for the Robertsport project, who is implicated in the unauthorized connection of customers, is suspended for one month without pay.
Saryee said the institution is under-cutting challenges to get pipe-borne water to the populace and the determination of the new management team is poised to make water affordable and accessible to all Liberians.
“We will achieve through a thorough system audit, learning from the rot and taking actions to clean for a functional, reliable water service provider and ensure the corporation is elevated to a self-reliant entity,” he said.
“The holidays are over, donors and Government of Liberia’s investment into the corporation will never witness any plunder that the institution suffered over the years,” the release concludes.
