Copyright thenewdawnliberia
Liberia continues to suffer from contracts that are not in the nation's interest, as another contract comes under scrutiny. TIA, Telecom International Alliance, was awarded a lucrative contract for an extended period, with no performance reports to date, raising questions about its validity. This is not the first time this has come up. Research has confirmed that TIA Liberia is owned by TIA, LLC in Florida, USA, and its registered business address belongs to Elan and Adam Cohen, the current heads of LISCR, the Liberia Shipping Registry, headquartered in Washington, DC. The Registry originally began in 1948 and has been run by the Cohen family for the past 25 years. More than 50 years later, Liberians are still not ready to manage our very own, very lucrative registry. The brothers succeeded their late father, Yoran Cohen, who also owned Cellcom Liberia. With public condemnation of the TIA contract, the Cohens continue to enjoy MILLIONS in revenue from "helping" Liberia, with their LISCR contract already extended by the previous administration to 2029. So much so that they met with President Boakai on his recent trip to the US, promoting LISCR publicly while privately raising funds for TIA with the help of several Liberians, including LTA officials. https://www.emansion.gov.lr/media/press-release/president-boakai-meets-top-liscr-officials-washington-dc-0 The Liberian face for TIA? William Saamoi's LinkedIn profile says he is the Managing Director of TIA. Familiar? He also managed Cellcom. Help get the deal through? Reportedly, former speaker Fonati Koffa is legal counsel for the Cohens' businesses. Many questions need answers.... How did TIA operate in Liberia for almost a year without being a legally registered entity? Did they pay income taxes and salaries, or is this just a shell/empty entity? How did the LTA, a government entity, pay a non-existent company for the first 10 months that it should not have been able to operate a bank account? Has the LRA and the CBL advised the President on this loophole and how it happened? Was this administration properly briefed on TIA? Was President Boakai aware of the TIA-LISCR link when he met with the Cohens in September, just weeks ago? Hopefully, this will not be business as usual. Too many loopholes and loss of revenue that could have gone to Liberian teachers and health workers. How many times will the Cohens move in to "help" Liberia—Cellcom, LISCR, and now TIA? And how many Millions will Liberia lose for this help? Reportedly assisted by LTA officials to extend the term, increase the percentage, and rob Liberia of millions, and then pose for pictures with the PRESIDENT. How did the legislature miss this, or did they? LTA contract issues were raised SEVERAL times, but no actions were taken. TIA in Florida business registry, TIA has same name and address as Owner of LISCR
