Embattled Minister Vabah Gayflor emotional rants over “D” Grade illustrates a major problem in the Unity Party government: Officials failing to take responsibility for their misdeeds bringing unnecessary embarrassment to the presidency.

IN THE LAST 48 HOURS officials at the Labor Ministry have taken the airwaves to respond rather angrily to the annual assessment of Minister Vabah Gayflor.

FRONTPAGEAFRICA graded the ministry a “D” in most part due to a major scandal which unfolded during the course of the year.

OF PARTICULAR reference were a number of reports during the year which took the minister to task for among other things, gross breach of the regulations of the Public Procurement Concessions Commission and outright issues of conflict of interests.

THE MINISTER’S use of her office to solicit funds from companies for a supposed Labor Day program was a gross breach of conflict of interest and corruption when the Labor Ministry should be monitoring activities of these companies.

IRONICALLY, the minister was re-assigned from the Ministry of Gender and Development to the Ministry of Labor ending a rugged period at Gender during which the minister was dogged by allegations of corruption.

A FRONTPAGEAFRICA investigation, backed by credible sources and procurement documents reported that Minister Gayflor approved the purchase of several used vehicles in contravention of the laws of Liberia and against PPCC regulations. Even more troubling, FrontPageAfrica has learned, the vehicles were reportedly purchased from a used car dealership owned by a senior official at the ministry.

FRONTPAGEAFRICA received confirmation from the PPCC that they were aware of the issue and even requested procurement documents from the ministry on how the vehicles were purchased.

THE ACT ESTABLISHING the PPCC gives the body oversight responsibility to regulate and monitor all forms of public procurement and concessions practices in Liberia. The PPCC replaced the CMC with elaborate mandates of monitoring procuring entities to comply with the Act of 2005 for all public procurement and awarding concessions, in order to ensure economy, efficiency, transparency and to promote competition so that Government gets “value for money” in using public funds.

SECTION 58 of the Act requires procuring Entities to use standard bidding procedures and forbids government institutions from purchasing used vehicles. All government ministries and agencies are required to purchase vehicles brand new. The minister, according to sources at the Labor Ministry was reportedly advised of the acts and regulations but went ahead and approved the purchase anyway.

PPPC REGULATIONS also requires government procurement purchase over $US10,000 to be put out for a bid. But in the case of the purchase of the vehicles, FPA has learned, this was not done.

WE COULD NOT in good conscience give Minister Gayflor anything short of the grade when ordinary Liberians agreed that she should have even been given an F.

THIS EXERCISE is in no way a personal attack on any particular official of government but is intended to serve as a guiding tool and assessment facility which would hold public officials to the fire and keep them in check.

THE MINISTRY of Labor chose to skip the issues in play here and resort to personal attacks on the editor instead of addressing the points highlight as flaws.

THESE ARE the kind of officials which continue to give the presidency a prescription to fail and en route on a rather disturbing course of what could potentially be a flawed and dampened legacy.

PRESIDENT SIRLEAF must ensure that her administration prosecutes cases and perceptions of corruption if she wishes to be taken seriously by the international partners and donors and cement her place in the world of respectable leaders.

THE LIKES of Minister Gayflor and her surrogates are bad omen for a post-war nation on the rebound. She has served her time and had sufficient chances to prove her worth. Sadly, the Minister has failed and she must go.