The House of Representatives has summoned the Managing Director and Board Members of the National Port Authority (NPA) over the reported arbitrary dismissal of 10 employees of the entity. The House's plenary resolved that the NPA management has to give reasons why the staff's employment statuses with the entity were terminated.
The NPA Management revealed last week that it dismissed the employees for financial improprieties and administrative reasons. The management said it subsequently notified law enforcement for onward prosecution, where applicable -- thereby warning the public not to do business with these former employees.
Those dismissed were Gabriel S. Bull, Comptroller; Vakumah Dukuly, Former Comptroller; Logan David, former LSP Director; Sabato Dennis, former Director of Investigation; Christian Brownell, Deputy Comptroller, Terrence Doe, Executive Director of Transport; Pewee S Flomoku, Executive Director of Human Resources; Patrick Sumo, Executive Director of the office of former Managing Director; Civicus Barsi-Giah, Buchanan Port Director and P. Martin Zayzay, Port Coordinator, Buchanan.
The appearances of Sekou A.M. Dukuly, Managing Director of NPA; Rev. Luther Tarpeh, Chairman of the Board of Directors and other members of the Management Team and the Board today, 18th March 2024 in the House's first conference room at noon, is due to a summon following Plenary's decision last Thursday.
Plenary's decision was triggered by a Communication from Montserrado County Electoral District 17 Representative Bernard Blue Benson, Jr. in which he drew the attention of the House of Representatives to what he termed as the "NPA's abrupt termination of 10 staff from its employ."
Rep. Benson said according to the termination notice served to the 10 employees, they were terminated based on the provision of the NPA handbook citing Article 5, section ii, which states: "Offenses which shall warrant immediate dismissal", and Count 2, "Gross negligence of duty resulting in loss of life, financial loss or property".
"After a conference with the terminated employees, I was informed that there was absolutely no investigation to their knowledge, leaving me to wonder if there was any due process accorded them.
"I am hereby requesting this august body to invite the Managing Director of the National Port Authority Mr. Sekou A. M. Dukuly, Mr. James Richard Bernard-Deputy for Administration, and the Chairman of the Board Luther Tarpeh, to go in depth to the cause of termination unambiguously, and with the magnitude charges, and also ascertain that those terminated [were] afforded due process according to Article 20a of the Liberian Constitution," Rep. Benson's communication stated.
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Rep. Benson, who is also the Chairman of the House's Committee on Information, Broadcast and Tourism, implored his colleagues to establish the facts, as deputies of the people, in order to get a clearer explanation to the people of Liberia who are eager to know the truth of the mass terminations of employment at NPA within the first 100 days of the Boakai administration.
Meanwhile, the internal investigation that led to the dismissal of the staff was prompted by the discovery of a series of vouchers revealing huge sums of money disbursed by the NPA) to the former ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) during the recently concluded election campaign.
The vouchers, six in total, have US$9,500 on each and were issued to individuals for onward payment to the CDC on the same date, July 17, 2023. Each voucher was intended for various communities: New Georgia Community, Logan Town, New Georgia Estate, St. Paul Bridge Community, Doe Community, and Freeport Community.
