Lawmaker demands Mansion renovation report

Lofa County Senator George Tengbeh has called on the Senate to demand a status report from the relevant authorities in charge of the renovation of the Executive Mansion. Contractors have been working on the home of the Liberian presidency after it broke into fire in July 2006.

In his request to the Senate, Sen. Tengbeh said there have been allotments in the past three years in the national budget for the renovation of the Executive Mansion, but claimed that no status report has been presented to the Legislature.

“I believe that as members of this August body with oversight on government functionaries, we believe that it is prudent enough that we be in the know of progress on said renovation”, Sen. Tengbeh said.

In a communication addressed to Senate Pro- Tempore Armah Jallah on Thursday, 30 March, the Lofa County Lawmaker petitioned his colleagues at the Senate to demand further update on the project.

He has however acknowledged that the General Auditing Commission or GAC in 2016 conducted an audit which was commissioned by President Ellen Johnson – Sirleaf. Following his request, the Senate instructed its relevant committees to invite authorities of the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs regarding the request of Sen. Tengbeh and to further advise the body.

Since its construction in 1963 during the administration of the late President William V.S. Tubman, the Executive Mansion has seen three renovations undertaken by three separate regimes.

The first renovation happened between 1988 and 1989 during the regime of the late President Samuel K. Doe, while the second was initiated in 1998 by former Liberian leader Charles G. Taylor who is currently imprisoned for crimes against humanity.

The ongoing renovation at the Mansion is prompted by a fire outbreak that was attributed to electrical shock which is said to have damaged the central section of the fourth floor of the Mansion. The incident occurred during a program commemorating the country’s 158th Independence Day celebration on July 26, 2006.

By Bridgett Milton-Editing by Winston W. Parley