Liberia: Raji Says No Conflict of Interest in Awarding His Chauffeur U.S.$20,000 Contract

Monrovia — Liberia Football Association (LFA) President Mustapha Raji says there is no conflict of interest in awarding a US$20,000 contract to his chauffeur, Anthony Flomo.

Report by Danesius Marteh, [email protected], Contributing Writer

Flomo, who runs a garage in Clara Town, is contracted to maintain and repair LFA-owned vehicles, including Raji’s US$45,000 Toyota Fortuner, enshrined in the 2024 fiscal budget.

Raji said Flomo has been with him and had his contract with the LFA before becoming his driver.

“He was never a driver of mine. I was driving my own car. He started to work with the LFA before becoming a driver of mine.

“I don’t see it as a conflict of interest because he started working with the LFA before becoming a driver of mine and it is of no benefit to me,” said Raji at a news conference on 2 July at the LFA headquarters in Congo Town.

Legal and political precedents

History is replete with precedent of conflict of interest and how corporate governance has responded.

Associate Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay recused himself from the Press Union of Liberia (PUL)’s 2022 electoral dispute before the Supreme Court due to his familial link with then Vice President Daniel Nyakonah, who was one of the defendants.

Davidetta Browne-Lasanna, chairperson of the National Elections Commission, recused herself from an electoral dispute involving then Sinoe County Senator Milton Teahjay on grounds that she was conflicted because it was Teahjay, who gave her her first job at ELBC.

A Dolo Precedent

Then LFA secretary general Isaac Montgomery informed Vice President Saye Taayor Adolphus Dolo on 1 August 2022 that the LFA will not renew the contract it has with North Star Security Guard (NSSG) when it expires on 15 August 2022 due to conflict of interest.

Montgomery also informed executive committee members that Dolo was continuously harassing him to settle outstanding payments when he was fully aware of the LFA’s financial woes.

Dolo, who is NSSG chief executive officer, was awarded the contract prior to his election in April 2022.

“The LFA presents you compliment and [is] pleased to inform you that your security firm (North Star Enterprises)’s contract with the LFA will expire on August 15, 2022. It will not be renewed based on conflict of interest because you were elected as LFA second vice president.

“Based on your role as second vice president and knowing fully well that we had some financial constraints, you pesky me for not paying your security firm not even consider[ing] scales of preference holding all things constant,” wrote Montgomery.

But Dolo said “pesky” was too harsh to be used on him and at no time did he used his position to change Montgomery’s decision.

Dolo also revealed that NSSG was being run by his wife following his election.

“I did not impose my will on the LFA for the payment to North Star. All I did was inquire about the situation. That’s all. How did I impose on him?” Dolo told FrontPageAfrica newspaper.

Dolo said the contract between LFA and NSSG was signed before his election and sees no wrong in NSSG providing service for the LFA while he serves as second vice president.

“If the LFA feels is a conflict of interest with me as vice president and North Star providing service for the LFA all they need to do is to inform the entity that it’s a conflict of interest,” added Dolo.

Dolo was unsuccessful in calling for an emergency executive committee meeting to pass a vote of no confidence in Montgomery.

He also sought Uefa’s intervention at a leadership retreat it was conducting for the LFA from October 20-23, 2022 in Monrovia but was told by the facilitators that it was “a clear conflict of interest due to his familial link to NSSG”.

The LFA advertised a vacancy from 15-20 August and 19-27 December 2022

respectively for a security firm based in Monrovia to oversee the Antoinette Tubman Stadium, Tusa Field, George Weah technical center and its headquarters.

Raji also inquired from the Uefa facilitators on whether the use of his farm by the LFA or person(s) associated with football and providing personal funds to the LFA and staff amounted to conflict of interest.

He was told to establish a management team that will exclusively run the day-to-day affairs of the farm.

On his finances, Raji was told he can spend his benefits on individuals or groups in football but not on the LFA because he isn’t richer than the LFA, an advice he has flagrantly disrespected.

Raji bragged of crediting the LFA US$20,000 to pay its employees and contractors for December 2022.

He usually buys equipment for the LFA, including hard drives, on his return from some foreign trips.

Raji, who is one of the senior managers at Orange-Liberia (OL), has repeatedly said neither did he negotiate nor sign the sponsorship agreement between the LFA and OL due to conflict of interest.

So how can this same Raji say there is no conflict of interest in an LFA employee or a contractor being awarded a contract by the LFA?

“Raji demonstrated sheer arrogance and ignorance with his admission that there is no conflict of interest in the LFA awarding his driver a contract. These are the people, who knowingly and willingly violate our laws and believe they can go unpunished,” said a professor at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, who was speaking on condition of anonymity.

“So why did the same LFA cancel its security contract with Dolo’s company since there is no conflict of interest? I hope the LACC can take judicial notice of this open admission.”

What does Fifa say?

Fifa code of ethics, which was adopted by FIFA Council on 16 December 2022 and came into force on 1 February 2023, forbids conflict of interest.

Part two (substantive law), section five, subsection two says a conflict of interest arises if a person (including Raji and Flomo) bound by this code has, or appears to have, secondary interests that could influence their ability to perform their duties with integrity in an independent and purposeful manner.

Secondary interests include, but are not limited to, gaining any possible advantage for the persons (including Raji and Flomo) bound by this code themselves or related parties as defined in this code.

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Before being elected, appointed or employed, persons (including Raji and Flomo) bound by this code shall disclose any relations and interests that could lead to situations of conflicts of interest in the context of their prospective activities.

Persons bound by this code shall not perform their duties (in particular preparing, or participating in, the taking of a decision) in situations in which there is a danger that a conflict of interest might affect such performance.

Any such conflict shall be immediately disclosed and notified to the organization for which the person bound by this code performs their duties.

Violation of this article shall be sanctioned with an appropriate fine of at least CHF 10,000 as well as a ban on taking part in any football-related activity for a maximum of two years.

In serious cases and/or in the case of repetition, a ban on taking part in any football-related activity may be pronounced for a maximum of five years.

What does the LACC Act say?

Conflict of interest is a form of corruption and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) was established in 2008 and reestablished in July 2022 “to investigate all acts of corruption discovered or reported to have occurred in the public, private and civil society sectors of Liberia with the aim of identifying the person(s) and the extent of the loss of or damage to any public and or private property as a result of such act of corruption”.