By Bill W. Cooper
Following the Liberian Senate’s failed quest to imprison Public Works Minister Ruth Coker-Collins for 72 hours upon her last appearance for what they termed as lying under oath and impeding legislative functions, she is expected to reappear before that august body today.
The legislative elders’ plan to punish Coker-Collins who now finds herself in hot water, ahead of her Tuesday, July 17 reappearance is by now being perceived as a political gimmick, following an appeal from Senate Pro-temp, Albert Chie who himself ignited the anger of his colleagues against the Minister and later settled for her reappearance.
On Thursday, July 13, 2023, Minister Collins slightly escaped prison after her legal team appealed to members of the body through ‘continuance’ to grant her two weeks to adequately respond to the Senators’ charge of contempt and impeding of their legislative duties.
Even though majority of the Senators pleaded with their colleagues and the Pro-temp to deny Minister Collins’ letter of continuance, Pro-temp Chie, backed by Senators Saah Joseph and Joseph Jallah accepted the Minister’s letter and called for due process to be given her.
He said, “Colleagues, in as much that we all are not happy with the Minister’s actions, we should also be cognizant of what we do before it backfires. I’m pleading that we relax a little bit and give the minister and her legal team until Tuesday to come with their response, upon which we can now take the necessary action if need be.”
However, the controversy erupted after a heated and contentious hearing held by the Senate’s full plenary which was concerned about the allegations of corruption, dishonesty, and mismanagement of road funds, intended for the rehabilitation of roads across the country.
Minister Coker-Collins and her deputies, including the National Road Funds (NRF), Public Procurement Concession Commission (PPCC), and the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), appeared before members of the Senate to answer questions regarding the alleged misappropriation of road funds and the delay in executing crucial infrastructure projects across the country, as well as awarding contracts to construction companies without using the proper channels.
However, during the course of the hearing, it became evident that the minister had provided false information and deliberately obstructed the Senate’s function by her refusal to submit all relevant documents regarding ongoing road construction works across Liberia.
During the hearing, several senators expressed their disappointment at the minister’s behavior, saying, “Lying under oath and obstructing legislative functions are serious offenses that undermine the integrity of our democratic institutions.”
Senator Dillon in a more angry tone on the matter said, “The Senate takes these matters very seriously, and we will not tolerate any attempt to impede our efforts to uncover the truth and hold public officials accountable. So, this Minister needs to go to jail for 72 hours and afterwards, come back to us so we can continue the hearing on other issues.”
According to Dillon, it is time that the Senate takes a decision that will serve as a deterrent to other officials of government who would want to obstruct or mislead the legislature, once cited.
Following a rigorous debate among the senators, a motion was made to hold the minister in contempt of the Senate, as the motion was supported by a majority of the senators, leading to the unprecedented decision to impose a 72-hour jail sentence.
The senators also vowed to continue its investigation and pursue all necessary measures to uncover the truth and hold those responsible accountable, in line with their responsibility.
It can be recalled that on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, the plenary of the Liberian Senate invited the Ministry of Public Works, along with managements of various companies that were awarded contracts with funding for the construction and maintenance of roads in Liberia, for a hearing.
Additionally, they were also invited speak on the deplorable road conditions in the country, coupled with contracts awarded with payment made to companies that have failed to live up to the intent and obligations of said contracts.
Those who appeared include Public Works Minister, Ruth Coker-Collins, Deputy Minister for Administration, Joseph Todd, Deputy Minister Amos Barclay and Assistant for Operations, Kaustella Kialain-Sarsih.
However, during the Tuesday, July 11, 2023 public hearing, Minister Collins and team disclosed that the road between ITI to Greenville, Sinoe County, is about 83% completed by the Desire Construction.
But Senate Pro-tempore, Albert Chie, termed the information provided by Minister Collins and team as a blatant lie and a deceit, thus threatening to detain the Minister for deceiving the Senators and the country as a whole.
He said, contrary to the Minister’s claims, the road in question is not pliable and it baffles him to have heard the Public Works Minister lying under oath and deceiving the Liberian people when nothing has been done on the road.
The Grand Kru County Senator noted that the Desire Construction was awarded the US$1.9 million contract in April of 2020 but the Ministry complained that the company was not performing to the task, thus leading to uneasy access of the road.
But in what appears to be a sharp response, Dave Koomey, owner of the Desire Construction Company, who was also present in the hearing, disclosed that from 2020-2022, his company completed 90 percent of the project but revealed that the Public Works Ministry reduced his work to 83% and paid him only 60 percent of his money.
He said despite his acceptance of the Ministry’s rating of his job done, the Ministry of Public Works still owes him some money, a claim Minister Ruth Coker-Collins alluded to but attributed the reason to challenges faced by her Ministry.
Following the debate, Sinoe County Senator, Numene Bartekwa, made a motion that Minister Collins, along with her two deputies and one assistant, lied under oath and as such, they should appear before full plenary and show reason or reasons why they should not be held in contempt, and as well either come alone or appear with their legal counsel.
Meanwhile, our legislative reporter has said if Minister Coker-Collins and team fail to convince the senators as to why she should not be held in contempt, she might end up in 72 hours imprisonment, in line with Article 44 of the Constitution.
Article 44 of the Constitution states, “Contempt of the Legislature shall consist actions which obstruct the Legislative functions or which obstruct or impede members or officers of the Legislature in the discharge of their legislative duties and may be punished by reasonable sanctions after a hearing consistent with due process of law.”
It adds, “No sanction shall extend beyond the session of the legislature wherein it is imposed, and any sanction imposed shall conform to the provisions on fundamental rights laid down in the Constitution.”
