The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) is demanding answers from President Joseph Nyuma Boakai's administration over reports of a US $10 million presidential villa under construction in Foya, Lofa County, the president's hometown -- a project the group says appears nowhere in the national budget and risks breaching procurement laws.
At a Thursday news conference in Monrovia, CENTAL Executive Director Anderson D. Miamen said the government's silence is fueling suspicion about the project's funding source, purpose and contractor selection.
"We call on the Liberian government to provide detailed information about the project. Its continued silence, in the midst of multiple concerns, does not send a good message to the public about full compliance with procurement and other laws," Miamen said.
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CENTAL's review of the 2024-25 budgets, he added, showed no allocation for a villa under the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs or any other agency.
Villa Controversy Sparks Public Outcry
The debate began after Eddie Jarwolo, executive director of Naymote Partners for Democratic Development, alleged on Facebook that construction of a presidential villa was underway in Foya.
Deputy Information Minister Daniel Sando dismissed the report, saying the only project he knew of was tied to the Mano River Union (MRU) conference, citing Foya's strategic border location with Guinea and Sierra Leone.
But attempts by advocacy groups to verify Sando's claim with the MRU Secretariat failed; the secretariat referred them back to Sando for documentation.
CENTAL urged the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) and the Asset Recovery Task Force to investigate.
"We await a timely report to the public on its outcomes," Miamen said.
Nepotism Charge Against Chief Justice
CENTAL also blasted Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay for recommending his son, Willeyon Gbeisay, as associate magistrate at the Paynesville Magisterial Court -- an appointment later withdrawn after a public backlash.
Miamen said the move violated the Code of Conduct for public officials, calling it "blatant nepotism."
"The Chief Justice recommended his son to serve in a branch of government he not only works in but also heads and supervises, clearly constituting nepotism and a gross disregard for the Code of Conduct," he said.
CENTAL urged lawmakers to apply Section 9.8 of the Code, which allows penalties ranging from reprimand to removal from office and up to a five-year ban from public service.
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Call for Accountability at the Top
Miamen pressed President Boakai to lead by example.
"The president must move away from business as usual, which has undermined accountability, transparency and productivity in successive governments," he said.
CENTAL warned that opaque spending and nepotistic appointments risk further eroding already low public trust in the judiciary and the executive branch.
