-TWEAH WALKS OUT

The much anticipated probe into the US$20.5M rice subsidies Thursday ended abruptly after former Finance Minister Samuel Tweah and his legal team reportedly walked out of the offices of the Access Recovery and Property Retrieval Task Force, AREPT.

Tweah and his legal team, the reports said, walked out shortly upon arrival at the AREPT offices in Oldest Congo Town in Monrovia. The reported walkout has raised public concerns about what must have happened.

 AREPT had invited the former Finance Minister as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged misapplication of approximately US$20 Million allotted for a rice subsidy program for 2021 to 2022.

AREPT is probing allegations involving theft of property, economic sabotage, criminal conspiracy, criminal facilitation, and the alleged misapplication of public funds connected to payments reportedly made by the Government of Liberia through the Ministries of Commerce and Finance to reduce the market price of rice.

The investigation centers on a rice subsidy initiative implemented between September 2021 and October 2022, during a period when the government announced interventions aimed at easing pressure on ordinary Liberians facing rising food prices.

AREPT is reportedly seeking to establish whether the US$20.5 million subsidy achieved its intended purpose or whether the funds were improperly diverted despite little noticeable reduction in rice prices across the country.

Speaking to reporters outside the AREPT headquarters, Tweah’s legal counsel, Cllr. Arthur Johnson, sharply criticized what he called the humiliating treatment of his client, accusing the Task Force of failing to handle the matter professionally and respectfully.