Liberia: Youth & Sports Summoned Over Lease of SKD Sports Complex Hotel

The Plenary of the Liberian Senate has unanimously voted to summon the Ministries of Youth & Sports, and Justice, to provide clarity on the reported 25-year lease agreement involving the hotel facility at the Samuel Kanyon Doe (SKD) Sports Complex in Paynesville.

The decision was reached based on a communication from Senator Jonathan BoyCharles Sogbie of River Gee County, who informed the Senate that the hotel, originally constructed to host Liberia's national football teams, has been leased to a group of Chinese investors in partnership with a Liberian businessman.

The lease, Senator Sogbie disclosed, reportedly has a duration of twenty-five (25) years, raising concerns about the use and control of a government-funded facility, while the country's national teams are left to rent other hotel facilities to host players and technical staff.

Senator Sogbie, himself a former player of the Invincible Eleven national team, Lone Star, explained that because of the agreement, national team players who should have been accommodated at the SKD facility are now being housed in separate locations, a development the river-Gee County Senator said contradicts the original intent of the project.

He described the deal as troubling and argued that publicly funded infrastructures meant to benefit Liberians should not be transferred to foreign interests without transparency and proper justification.

The River Gee County lawmaker warned that such arrangements undermine Liberia's sports development goals and deny the government much-needed revenue that could support national programs.

The two Ministries will provide clarity on who authorized the lease, the legal basis for the agreement, the terms involved, and whether the transaction aligns with national laws and the public interest.

To advance the inquiry, the Senate had earlier instructed its Committee on Youth and Sports, chaired by Senator Bill Twehway of Rivercess County, to spearhead the process.

The summoned authorities are expected to appear before the Senate within two weeks to address all questions relating to the controversial lease of the SKD Sports Complex Hotel.

Read the original article on Liberian Observer.