The Liberian Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has recommended to Plenary to castoff the nomination of Atty. Toga Nimley as chairman of the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission.
The senate described him as ‘ineligible and not qualified’ for the position.
The Committee also rejected the nomination of Cllr. Charles Gibson as Chairman of the Board at the LERC.
He was rejected for the similar reasons.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is headed by George Tengbeh of Lofa County.
It can be recalled that the United States Government recently announced suspending the spending authority of the Millennium Challenge Account-Liberia (MCAL) due to President George Weah’s failure to adhere to a diplomatic note warning against the nomination of Mr. Toga.
Front Page Africa newspaper quotes word of caution from the U.S. government was subsequently followed by the withholding of funds from the entity which left employees of the entity unpaid.
According to information gathered, the U.S. government will continue to withhold funding from the Commission until the nomination was withdrawn.
The Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission is part of the Millennium Challenge Compact which support to reform the electricity sector
It was established by the New Electricity Law of Liberia passed by the National Legislature in 2015.
The U.S. Compact supports the standing up of the LERC. The compact pays salaries for LERC staff, procures office space, equipment and furniture.
LERC will develop guidelines for electricity suppliers that guarantee health, safety and environmental standards in supplying electricity to homes and communities.
It will review and monitor the safety standards of electricity supply.
Political decision?
Many political commentators say the decision by the senate to reject Cllr. Charles Gibson as Board Chairman and Atty. Toga Nimley as chairman of the LECR was politically driven because in the past the same senate has been confirming nominees with questionable credentials.
Despite his unruly social media comments threatening to kill people, the senate in 2019 went ahead and confirmed Deputy Defense Minister Designate Zoe Zorley at the Ministry of National Defense.
