Montserrado County’s district #11 Representative, Richard N. Koon, has called on the plenary of the House of Representatives to summon authorities of the Pan African Plaza to inform the august body about the status of ownership since the departure of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
According to Representative Koon, UNMIL rented Pan African Plaza from the Pan African Real Estate Corporation (PAREC), a company registered under the laws of Liberia and the Liberian government was a significant shareholder in PAREC. He explained that UNMIL rented the area from 2006 till the day of departure, and rent pays to PAREC was governed by a contractual confidentiality.
“Honorable Speaker, Deputy Speaker and distinguished colleagues, with an annual income of US$2.8 million and total income of US$34.5 million in the 12 years ending December 2018, there appears to be shocking mystery regarding ownership, in terms of the identities of shareholders and corporate activities of Pan African Real Estate Corporation during this digital, computerized age of information technology,” Representative Koon’s letter to the plenary read.
The district #11 lawmaker told his colleagues that the property (Pan African Plaza) is not in compliance with its real estate tax liability nor withholding on rent.
“Honorable Speaker, Assets: 8-storey Building in the City of Monrovia, Liberia, investment sector: real estate sector shareholders: 50% Libyan African Investment Company ( LAICO) Libyan government 50%, Liberian government, the Libyan-Liberian Holding Company and six other state-owned enterprises were dissolved by Legislation upon request dated June 5, 2015 by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on ground that ‘they are no more viable and significant to the (economy) of the country’, but Libyan-Liberian Holding Company (LIHC) was replaced by the Pan African Real Estate Corporation (PAREC).”
In order to have a clear understanding about the ownership of the property in question and how kind it is not paying tax, Representative Koon appealed to his colleagues to have the authorities invited before the full plenary to provide such clarity.
Following the reading of the communication, a motion was made by Representative Ben A. Fofana of Margibi County to have the communication forwarded to the Committees on Contract and Monopoly and Judiciary to report in a two-week period instead of a full plenary appearance.