MONROVIA – Suspended Superintendent James A.S. Momoh of the Monrovia Consolidated School System (MCSS) is reportedly continuing to receive his monthly salary, despite a presidential order halting all payments during his suspension, sources within MCSS have revealed. Allegations indicate that MCSS Human Resource Director Ms. Korpo Davis may have redirected Momoh’s pay from the agency’s standard International Bank account to a Guaranty Trust (GT) Bank account, bypassing official protocols.
President Joseph Boakai suspended Momoh without pay on June 24, 2025, pending a full and impartial investigation into serious allegations of administrative and financial misconduct. The suspension, announced through an Executive Mansion press release signed by Presidential Press Secretary Atty. Kula Bonah Nyei Fofana, followed growing public concern and a formal recommendation from the MCSS Board. The board cited a collapse of administrative order, unauthorized procurement totaling over US$1.6 million, and unrest among teachers and students.
At the center of the controversy is Momoh’s unilateral procurement of 6,500 desks and chairs valued at US$357,500 without budgetary approval or proper procurement procedures. The deal, signed with Ma Mus Group of Investment, reportedly triggered a larger obligation for 22,000 chairs valued at US$1.2 million. Another contract, valued at US$451,150 and awarded to Kpeinja Ventures Inc. for laboratory supplies, was signed on July 11, 2024, without board authorization. Much of this imported equipment has remained stranded at the Freeport of Monrovia for over 100 days, with the supplier demanding a US$50,000 partial payment to prevent auctioning by customs authorities.
President Boakai’s office described these transactions as a “disturbing pattern of mismanagement and potential corruption.” In keeping with his ARREST agenda and commitment to transparency, the President has tasked the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) to lead a thorough investigation. Momoh has been instructed to fully cooperate and surrender all MCSS property and documentation to Board Chair John-Charuk Siafa.
The suspension also follows a scathing April 28 communication from the MCSS Board to the late Minister of State Sylvester Grigsby, which highlighted “a toxic environment” under Momoh’s leadership. The board’s April 22 resolution warned of an educational system in freefall and urged swift executive action to prevent further crisis.
Further compounding concerns, Momoh reportedly expanded the number of volunteer teachers from 104 to 604 without board approval, straining an already limited budget. This action fueled protests by teachers and students, leading to a March 27 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Education, civil society groups, and the House of Representatives, which required onboarding and salary adjustments for verified teachers by May, a process that remains largely incomplete.
The situation escalated after a letter from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to the LACC identified Momoh and senior MCSS official Sonita Danga as persons of interest in a suspected financial misappropriation probe. The revelations triggered a teacher protest on April 14, during which MCSS facilities were padlocked until police intervened.
Internal documents now show that Momoh’s July and August 2025 salaries were paid through GT Bank, in direct violation of the President’s order that he receive no compensation during the investigation. Sources allege that Ms. Davis, acting in concert with Momoh, manipulated payroll systems and falsified documents to authorize the payments, misleading the financial team into processing the funds.
Like this:
Like Loading…
