Liberia: VP Koung Frowns Upon Past Government's Procurement Bid to Secure Five Lwsc Trucks

26 April 2024
FrontPageAfrica (Monrovia)
By Francis G. Boayue

Monrovia — The Vice President of the Republic of Liberia, H.E. Jeremiah Kpan-Koung, has expressed his dissatisfaction with the unrealistic pricing in the procurement process of five new water and sewer trucks for the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC) by the previous CDC-led government.

During the dedication ceremony of the LWSC's five water trucks on Thursday, VP Koung criticized the pricing proposed by the former government for the procurement of the trucks, deeming it unrealistic.

"If these trucks were Mercedes trucks from Europe and someone told me they cost US$160,000, then I could agree. However, for a Chinese truck which costs around US$60,000, someone is saying they spent US$218,750. I'm not doubting the amount, but this can only happen in government," VP Koung stated.

According to him, "Coming from a business background and having been involved in purchasing these trucks and seeing the prices of US$218,750, I can confidently say this is a government issue. This cannot happen in any private business area because I've purchased some of these trucks before as a businessman, fully equipped, for US$75,000 and had them delivered to my house. Perhaps the ones for water are different, but this pricing is unrealistic."

VP Koung further expressed his belief that LWSC and the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) will never reach the common people unless the distribution part is handed over to private businesses.

The Managing Director of the LWSC, Mo Ali, commended the CDC-led government for signing the contracts for the trucks on May 5, 2022, to secure five trucks for the LWSC. The procurement included two sewer trucks and three water trucks, each costing US$218,750 and US$151,200 respectively. These trucks were delivered in October 2023.

Ali also used the occasion to call on those doing business with the LWSC to pay their bills regularly, as this is one of the means by which the entity pays its employees and covers other expenses.

"We have accepted the blame for the inactivity of water, but there are people who are using the water but don't want to pay for it. When there are water issues, everybody calls LWSC, but when it comes to paying bills, many of those who use the water don't want to pay. However, we have implemented new measures to cut off those who are illegally using water without paying," LWSC Managing Director Mo Ali added.

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