It should be one of the questions members of the Liberian Senate must ask President Joseph Boakai’s Commerce Minister-designate, Stephen MarkaYekeson, when he appears for his confirmation hearing.
Findings of an investigation conducted by this Paper show that the Commerce Minister-designate was dismissed by former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, in 2013 for his unverified wealth, while serving in the government as deputy minister for Public Works.
Madam Sirleaf threw the Commerce Minister-designate out of her government during the public-sector asset-verification exercises conducted at the time by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, LACC.
Following a decade of private life, his return in government has sparked concerns over unresolved or unanswered inquiries raised during a 2013 LACC asset-declaration verification exercise and a separate procurement concern identified by the General Auditing Commission.
The alleged financial improprieties date back in 2013, when Yekeson was serving as Deputy Minister for Administration, Ministry of Public Works.
During that year, the LACC conducted a verification exercise involving 63 other officials drawn from seven government Ministries and agencies.
The Commission, headed by Cllr. Frances Johnson Morris Allison, at the time, was concerned about Yekeson and others’ declared assets and financial information in line with their lawful sources of income.
LACC’s former Chairperson, Allison, in an interview with the VOA at the time disclosed that the Commission had identified deposits totaling US$305,590 in three separate bank accounts associated with Yekeson.
It is alleged that Yekeson’s official monthly salary at the time was L$14,137.50 alongside a special allowance of approximately US$2,250.
Johnson Morris-Allison wondered how an official receiving that level of government compensation could have had deposits exceeding US$300,000 over a period of approximately two to three months without providing a satisfactory explanation of the source of the funds.
Madam Allison was quoted as saying “we arrived at the description of unexplained wealth on the basis of a person’s lawful income”.
It is not clear if President Boakai has done due diligence by appointing Yekeson whose character remains questionable.
