PPCC New boss vows to fight corruption

The newly appointed Executive Director for the Public Procurement and Concession Commission (PPCC) James Dorbor Jallah, sees his appointment as a dawning of a new day in the fight against corruption and has vowed to fight corruption head-on to bring to book those who will want to circumvent the procurement law and jeopardize the gains made in the fight against corruption.

“Let this be known that PPCC under my leadership will not cooperate with those who will seek to defraud the system by creating unnecessary emergencies, so as to seek the approval of the Commission to utilize the sole source method of procurement, which is prone to corruption,” Mr. Jallah warned.

He noted that the PPCC, under his leadership will accentuate collaboration and coordination but will not tolerate acts of corruption that will undermine the development agenda of Liberia. Mr. Jallah made the assertions on Friday, 31 October when he officially took office. The occasion was attended by stakeholders in the fight against corruption, including the Liberia Anti Corruption Commission and Governance Commission.

Mr. Jallah succeeds Commissioner Charles E. Collins, Sr., who was mandated by the Board of Commissioners of the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC),  to run the day- to- day affairs of the Commission following the resignation of its former executive director, Mrs. Peggy Varfley-Meres.

Commissioner Collins is one of seven commissioners appointed to the Board of the PPCC by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and confirmed by the Liberian Senate. He has oversight for training and capacity building. As Interim Executive Director, Commissioner Collins spearheaded the recruitment process launched by the Commission in June 2014 to identify a competent executive director to run the daily affairs of the Commission.                            

The appointment of Mr. Jallah followed a competitive and transparent recruitment process witnessed and certified by international and bilateral organizations, including the African Development Bank (ADB), USAID GEMS, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Interview Panel comprised the Liberia Institute of Public Administration (LIPA), Civil Service Agency (CSA), Governance Commission, and the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission.

Mr. Jallah will head the Secretariat and manage the day-to-day affairs of the Commission. He will ensure implementation of the Public Procurement and Concessions Act of 2010 and its relevant regulations as well as all policy directives of the Board of Commissioners.

The PPCC new Executive Director holds a Master of Engineering Degree (M.Eng.) in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at Zaragoza, Spain. Mr. Jallah previously served as Deputy Minister for Regional and Sectoral Planning at the Ministry of Planning and Economics Affairs. He also served as Project Manager of a World Bank funded capacity Development Project of the Liberia Institute of Certified Public Accountants (LICPA).  

He brings to the Commission the right mix of education, skills and experience; and possesses an impeccable character which is essential for an integrity institution like the PPCC. He is credited for planning, supervising, and administering the 2013 Entrance and Placement Examination of the University of Liberia which final results commenced a debate on the quality of education at high schools and universities in Liberia.

Mr. Jallah being a man of integrity was also appointed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to chair the Special Presidential Independent Investigative Body, with a mandate to conduct a comprehensive review of the issuance of Private Use Permits (PUPs) by the Forestry Development Authority (FDA).  The findings of that investigation resulted into drastic ongoing reforms being carried out in the forestry sector.