By: G Bennie Bravo Johnson I
The assuming office as the new managing director of the Liberia Water and Swerier Cooperation, Mohammed Ali has vowed to put an end to employee malpractices at the cooperation. Attributing some of the causes of delay in salary payment and challenges faced by the cooperation to the ethical malpractices of some employees of the cooperation.
Vowing that “I will cut it off!”
“We know what can happen to chemicals. We are aware that people can go into the field and collect money and come back and bill the same customers over and over, we know about that.
Some can go in the name of the corporation to bigger customers and collect money intended for the entity. But we will cut it off!
We are not saying that we will stop it completely, but when you are caught you will go.” LWSC managing Mirector Mo Ali.
Director Ali stated that LWSC under his administration will place some cardinal things that require firm decision-making.
Therefore, warned that he is a very unamusing person who is very decisive in decision-making. “When I take a decision, we are not going back on it.”
Ali acknowledged that during successive administrations of the cooperation, employees had their problems.
Further emphasizing those working in the field.
“While successive management has had problems, we the employees have our problems. Especially the employees on the field. For example, those in the technical areas can deliberately cut the water supply to request material. But when a month later we don’t take pay, we don’t blame ourselves.
If we want our customers to pay us we must stop cheating on them.”
Meanwhile, the LWSC’s new managing director acknowledged that he is aware of the forking conditions faced by employees and contractors of the cooperation.
“I am also aware of the conditions under which our people work.
I have seen videos of people who clean sewage, they don’t even have the equipment to go to very terrible sites but they sacrifice to go through.”
He lauded the technicians for the sacrifices over the years to ensure the cooperation was functional. He vowed that he would change the conditions if the president provided him the opportunity to stay longer at the LWSC.
“If President Boakai allows us to stay a little bit longer, we will change these working conditions.
You must get out from home and go to another home for work.
You can’t come to a workplace and you are not able to sit because of the conditions, you want to go home.”
He further stated that is fully aware of the many problems of the cooperation ranging from salary arrears for employees that are in the tone of US$.2M, accounting for nine months salary arrears.
“My understanding is that the entity owes employees for nine months salary arrears, that is more than US$.2M.
All of us will sit and decide that we will work and look for the money and pay ourselves.
So, that is, it needs to be part of our first hundred days deliverables.”
Mo Ali continued by revealing that as part of his hundred-day deliverables, the LWSC will restore the water supply in Monrovia and its environment by renovating the booster station in Caldwell. He added that the PIU project must be completed before December 31, 2024.
At the same time, the head of the transitional team at the Liberia Walter and Swerier Cooperation Rannel M. Konneh cautioned the new managing director about the challenges at the LWSC especially the salary for workers, as workers of the cooperation have not taken pay for the last nine months.
“Upon hearing your appointment as the managing director of the LWSC, as managing director there are challenges you are about to inherit.
We have a series of problems, most especially with the worker’s salary, rent has increased.
The workers have asked us to plead with you, Mr. Managing Director to please look into their problem.”
He Intimated that despite the lingering salary delay for workers of the cooperation, there is a clear indication that the LWSC has committed employees because they are always present at work irrespective of the huge negative effect that emanates from the delay in salary.
“When we took over as a transitional team, we understood that there was a clear indication that we have committed employees because when we took over there were a lot of challenges and complaints from our workers about their welfare.
Despite salary issues and complaints, we were able to talk to our workers to work.”
Meanwhile, Konneh added that the challenges of the cooperation are not only with salary, as there are other lingering administrative challenges to be faced by the Ali administration.
He stated that the cooperation is challenged with many challenges that have hindered the smooth operation of the LWSC over the years.
He revealed that there are limited operational vehicles and little or no chemicals for water purification.
However, provided that the transitional team was able to repair two of the damaged vehicles and purchased some chemicals for water purification.
Something he believes would enable the cooperation to pump water for six months.
“When we took over on January 24, 2024, as officials in charge of the LWSC, we realized that the cooperation is challenged with many challenges that have hindered the smooth operation of the LWSC over the years.
When we took over, we met two operational vehicles.
Based on some of the challenges we had as a team, we were able to repair two of the additional four vehicles. So, we have six additional vehicles including the series truck.
The transitional team was able to carry out the purchasing of chemicals to pump water consistently.
We were able to carry out the de-clocking of all manholes within Montserrado, and renovate all damaged pipes.”
Konneh further revealed that when the transitional team took over, the team met ten thousand United States dollars in the account of the cooperation, but was able to increase that by two hundred percent during the transitional period.
“When we assumed office, we were able to send a compliance team to the finance and accounting section of the LWSC and the bank. We discovered that the amount at the bank for the Liberia Water and Swerier Cooperation was a little over US$10,000 in the last four to five years. But as it takes, we were able to have a 200% increase at the bank.”
