The House of Representatives Joint Committee on Post & Telecommunication, Investment & Concession, and Judiciary, chaired by Hon. Ivar K. Jones, Monday convened its first public hearing on the proposed de-ratification of the Telecom International Alliance (TIA) contractual agreement with the Government of Liberia.
This hearing follows the submission of a formal communication from His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Liberia, requesting legislative intervention to de-ratify the said agreement.
Entities in Attendance:
โข Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA)
โข General Auditing Commission (GAC)
โข Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC)
During the hearing, the General Auditing Commission (GAC) informed the Committee that:
โข No procurement process was followed in the signing of the agreement;
โข The parent company was registered in August 2018, three days after the agreement was signed;
โข TIA failed to submit monthly reports to the LTA as required; among other observations.
The Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC) reported that it has no records of any rejection documents relating to the agreement.
Appearing before the Committee, LTA Chairperson Clarence Massaquoi disclosed that the LTA does not have the original copy of the TIA contract. He apologized to the lawmakers and called on the Legislature to proceed with the de-ratification of the agreement. He further revealed that a resolution related to the agreement had been signed by four of the five commissioners.
Members of the Joint Committee rigorously questioned the witnesses and have requested additional documentation to support the ongoing investigation.
The next public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at which time the Minister of Justice, LACC, TIA will be in attendance.
