Liberia: Pres. Weah Warns Against Bad Governance at PPCC

President George Manneh Weah has been weighing in on the significance of the work of the Public Procurement Concessions Commission (PPCC) in Liberia’s economic and political governance process but warned against acts that could undermine it.

President Weah at the Official Opening of the third annual PPCC forum said that the importance of Commission reviewing and making assessments of what needs to be done to improve effectiveness, as the institution is central to his administration’s drive to bring integrity to the overall governance process.

He said the PPCC has managed to ensure that the already scarce resources of Liberia are effectively and judiciously managed and that contracts and concessions meet all requirements in accordance with the law.

“This became necessary in the aftermath of the civil war when systems broke down, along with the country’s infrastructure,” he said, extolling the Commission for working with partners to restore some confidence in the system, while at the same time combating impropriety.”

President Weah however used the occasion to enjoin the PPCC to put integrity, fairness as well as legally-applied procedures at the front-burner in the discharge of its duties, when reviewing procurement issues.

“As it is often said, ‘he who seeks equity must come with clean hands,’” the Chief Executive noted. “I, therefore, want to caution all the Commissioners and Executives of the PPCC not to stall national development efforts because of personal interest. All reviews of procurement issues must be free, fair, and according to the laws of Liberia, not using your positions to favor one group over the other.”

President Weah urged officials of the Commission to put country, and not personal interest, first in order to achieve overall national development goals.

He reminded them that, over the years since its inception, the PPCC has established itself as one of the most vital institutions of Liberia’s governing processes. According to him, holding an Annual Review Meeting at this time to make an assessment of what the Commission needs to do to improve its effectiveness was highly important because the PPCC is central to his Administration’s drive to bring integrity to the overall governance process.

President Weah stated that the PPCC has ensured that the country’s already scarce resources are effectively and judiciously managed and that contracts and concessions meet all requirements in accordance with the law.  He recalled that the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) and the PPCC, along with other anti-graft entities, are being given renewed focus by his administration, in an effort to improve their capacity and facilitate their work. “This involves budgetary support and reforms to the way their work is done,” he emphasized.

The third annual PPCC Forum is being held under the theme: “Innovations and Reforms: Strengthening Liberia’s Public Procurement System.” The Forum is aimed at creating avenues to identify implementation challenges and shortcomings of the PPCC Act of 2010 as Amended. It is to inform future amendments to the existing law as may be necessary to contribute to the overall development and improvement of our public procurement system.