Monrovia — Days after the official dedication of the Liberia Football Association’s own headquarters, the President of LFA, Mustapha Raji, has responded to former Secretary General, Isaac Montgomery, who questioned the football house of not making full disclosure of the cost of the project. Montgomery, who served as chief scribe of the LFA for over three years and was at the FA during the start of the project, told the media that the cost of the project is over 1.8 million, contrary to the 1.5 million announced by the LFA.
According to Montgomery, it was a disservice to Liberians and the world for the LFA to announce such a low cost of the project. He added that the LFA took a loan of over two hundred thousand United States dollars from the bank to add to what was provided by FIFA, and such information needed to be announced to the public. Even though Montgomery, a former referee, now referee assessor and an auditor, did not accuse the LFA of corruption, he said it’s best practice to make full disclosure of such a project. The former LFA Secretary General appreciated the football house for completing its headquarters project.
But in reaction to Montgomery’s statement, Raji said the LFA is not hiding anything and will make a full disclosure of the cost at the right time. Raji said he announced 1.5 million because that was the initial cost of the project, but they had to go through other extra expenses. After reviewing the document with the contractor and LFA legal team, the cost will be made known to the public.
He added that football money will be used for football, and his administration has no plan of corrupting Liberian football. “The cost attached to this building is in the range of 1.5 million. There are other costs that our legal team is reviewing with the contractors, and in good faith, we will revert and come back to the press and general public with the final cost,” Raji told the press.
“There are other extractions that need to be made from the contract due to the change of location, and there are other issues in terms of claims by the contractor we need to address, so the final cost cannot be announced now, and doing so would be in error,” Mustapha added. He disclosed that after signing the contract, COVID-19 affected the project, which led to an increase in materials cost, which had to be added to the cost of the project. However, he promised to make a full disclosure of the amount of the building after a full calculation of the cost.
Commenting on the taking of a loan from the bank, Raji admitted that the FA took a loan from the bank for the headquarters project, and all stakeholders were informed about such action. “I am happy that the project didn’t cost 1.2 million, and I said 1.5 million because I am giving you the history of the beginning of the project. There are different costs attached, and the real cost is not 1.9 million either,” Raji asserted. “There are other claims being made by the contractor and the LFA, so after our legal team reviews and comes out with the pricing, we will come back to the public and announce the cost.”
Raji, who is seeking his third term as LFA president, encouraged everyone to join hands with them to work in a positive direction to ensure that they make football better in the country.