Filed in by Olando Testimony Zeongar – 0776819983/0880-361116/life2short4some@yahoo.com
Monrovia – Controversial talk radio presenter Henry Pedro Costa has blasted president Weah, stating among other things that he is disappointed in the Liberian leader for condoning the actions of the President/CEO of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), Ms. Saifuah M. Gray, regarding what Costa calls attempts by the NOCAL boss to thwart the implementation of the law establishing the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA).
In a videocast live streamed on social media Tuesday, Costa said he was angry and disappointed in President Weah, for what the loquacious talk show host terms as maneuverings on the part of NOCAL’s president/CEO Gray, to have allegedly influenced the president to sack his Director General of the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Mr. Edward Smith.
President Weah dismissed Mr. Smith Tuesday and replaced the trained oil and gas expert with a banker, Mr. Archie N. Donmo, who previously worked at Eco-Bank Liberia, prior to his first appointment in the Weah-led government, as Assistant Minister for External Resource & Debt Management at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.
Costa claims Ms. Gray influenced the president to have sacked Smith because the dismissed LPRA boss was standing up to the head of NOCAL in her attempts to stall the transition of the transfer of powers from her entity to the LPRA, as required by the 2016 Petroleum Law of Liberia.
Liberia’s Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Law and the NOCAL Act of 2014, approved in 2016, repealed and replaced the NOCAL Act of 2000 and the Petroleum Law of 2002, respectively.
The country’s new laws were developed with the assistance of international partners with input received from both national and international consultations, aimed at Liberia ensuring transparency and accountability in its oil sector, with the Petroleum Law separating the commercial and regulatory functions in the petroleum sector into two institutions: Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) and the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL).
The Law authorizes the LPRA to grant three types of petroleum rights including Reconnaissance License, Petroleum Agreement and License for Petroleum Transportation System. The law also provides for the creation of a Ministry of Petroleum in the future should there be any commercial oil discoveries; this ministry would oversee all bid rounds.
The New Petroleum Law, besides restricting NOCAL to act as a negotiator, and not both the negotiator and regulator, requires competitive bidding for all petroleum contracts. It also sets standards for royalties and other fees in production sharing contracts and requires companies to declare true owners and beneficial ownership disclosure.
Until the passage of Liberia’s New Petroleum Law, under the NOCAL Act of 2000 and the Petroleum Law of 2002, the state-owned oil company was responsible for conducting bid rounds as well as administering all oil exploration and development agreements, a glaringly flawed legislation which resulted in NOCAL regulating its partner companies posing a clear conflict of interest.
“Good afternoon folks, I want to express myself about something – I am Henry Costa, and I am disappointed by president Weah.” the popular talk show host began his rant against president Weah on this note.
“Many of you would be surprised that I would even do this video, because some of you believe that I work for the government, that I work for the president, that he pays my bills, that he is the one who pays my tuition – that’s what some of you believe, even though it is an insult for you to say that to me – because I was living a very good life before George Manneh Weah became president, and I can still live a good life while he’s president, and after he’s president,” said Costa, who has of late come under incessant public condemnation for declaring support for the Weah’s administration after he previously took to the airwaves on countless occasions to vilify Weah, even being on record for stating that he (Weah) was unfit to rule the country.
“During the campaign I opposed him fiercely. He won, the Liberian people wanted him to be president, I respected that, and I decided to give him my support – and I want you to share this video, because what I am to tell you will shock many of you, but I’m sending a message to the president through this – and I decided not to do it privately, to call some of his people to tell them how I feel. I decided to do it publicly,” said Costa, who in an apparent disclaimer due to public condemnation, ranted that he does not work for President Weah.
“Because I do not work for the president, they don’t pay me a cent. I do what I do because I think he’s a good man and I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, and that is why I support George Manneh Weah. But I am very disappointed in something the president has done – and you all want to hear that, he said.
“If you support people, you must have the courage to tell them when they do wrong – you must be able to tell them when they are wrong, and that is the kind of person I am. I am not afraid to tell people when they do wrong, no matter who they are. I am not afraid of the consequences either, even if you’re my best friend – when you do something wrong I will tell you that,” Costa stressed.
“People cuss me up on Facebook for supporting this government – people cuss me all day, they say all sorts of nasty things about me because I support this government – and to what end; I am not in their government, I don’t have a job, what, to what end?” Costa asked while stuttering, stating further however, that he supports Weah’s administration because he wants the former footballer turned politician to succeed.
He noted that the day he makes up his mind not to support the Weah-led government any longer, that will not be on the basis of “what people say to me on Facebook. It will be because I will make my own determination based on my conviction.”
“I am a sort of person, when I make a decision, no matter what the consequences, I am willing to go all the way, said Costa, adding, “and why am I angry? Why am I disappointed? I am disappointed because I support this government, I support this president.” I have been propagating his agenda, explaining his message to the Liberian people because I believe he means well,” Costa said, noting that although he’s disappointed in president for his latest action, he (Costa) is still of the belief that Weah means well for the country.
“But here is what the president did that disappoints me, and this is strike one, and I’m counting – This is strike one, this is the first time that he’s done something that has really pushed me to this point to publicly say it. Strike one, I want you to remember. Save this video, October the 30th. Strike one,” Costa laid the basis of his rant against the Liberian leader, which included diatribes spewed out against President Weah and NOCAL boss, Ms. Gray.
He continued: “…The Government of Liberia created NOCAL then they created the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority – the law is very clear. The law states that they will take almost all the crucial powers of NOCAL away from NOCAL and give those powers to the Regulatory Authority, that is what the law says, it is the law. When President Weah was in the Senate, he voted to pass that law. They passed that law that NOCAL would be divorced, divested of their powers to regulate the sector and they would give those powers to the regulatory agency.”
Further stating what triggered his anger against President Weah, Costa explained that Liberia’s donor partners including the U.S. government, the European Union, the Norwegians, spent approximately US$5 million on the drafting of the Petroleum Law, adding, “They brought in oil experts, legal experts, petroleum lawyers, they drafted the thing and they created the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority.”
“They had a transition plan, that within a certain time period, they will divorce NOCAL of all those powers and give those powers to the Regulatory Authority. Because they said the idea behind it was that you cannot have NOCAL playing the role of a referee and a player – for transparency sake; Global Witness, all of those partners they said you cannot have NOCAL playing both roles, you got to take the power of regulation from NOCAL and leave NOCAL to run as an oil company like any other oil firm. That was the thing,” said Costa.
“Five million dollars was spent on that process – President Weah became president, they decided to do this; he appointed Saifuah Mai Gray, as president of NOCAL, somebody who knows absolutely nothing about petroleum – fine, she’s a young woman, he gives her the opportunity to become the president of NOCAL – well, actually she has Lester Tenny who actually studied oil and gas, to rely on – and basically you know, what’s NOCAL is going to be doing anyway? Because they are no longer the regulator, it is the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority – then he appointed Edward Smith, a guy who is trained in oil and gas, trained, he appointed him – good appointment,” Costa explained further.
He added: “In the transition plan, they put money in NOCAL’s budget, about 2 million dollars, fifty percent of that money is to go to the Regulatory Authority – the money goes through NOCAL, for NOCAL to send the Regulatory Authority’s share of the money to them. That’s the way the law was crafted, the transition plan, it’s crystal clear.”
“The transition plan says that after all the regulatory powers are transferred to the Regulatory Authority, NOCAL will cease to exist as a regulator – NOCAL will essentially have no real powers, no real functions, fine – and that is apparently what Saifuah Mai Gray doesn’t want. She does not want to be a head of a NOCAL that really does not have no powers, no teeth, nothing,” Costa said.
‘Pissed off’
Therefore, Costa claims, “So Saifuah Mai Gray decides that she will deliberately stall the process of the transition to divorce herself of the powers that she currently has and transfer those powers to the Regulatory Authority. So what does she do? She begins to stall the process. First of all, the first thing she does that pisses me off, she continues to pay herself ridiculous sums of money. Now, here is what Saifuah Mai Gray did, and it’s sad, it breaks my heart that President Weah is condoning this. This is why I am disappointed and I am telling you. President Weah has just fired Edward Smith, the director general of the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority because Saifuah Mai Gray wanted him to do that.”
He disclosed that prior to Smith’s dismissal, the NOCAL boss Ms. Gray, vowed to instigate the sacked LPRA director general’s removal – “and Saifuah said it, she said it! She said except I am not woman, I am going to make sure that the president will fire Edward Smith, and Edward Smith was fired today by the president,” Costa lamented.
“The president fired Edward Smith today, and appointed another person called Archie Donmo, because Saifuah Mai Gray wanted it. Saifuah Mai Gray beat her chest and said it,” he added, stating“… she said it that she was going to make the president fire Edward Smith and the president has fired Edward Smith – and I say to myself what, so this little girl can just tell George Weah to fire somebody, and then the person is fired, just like that. Because she says Edward Smith is challenging her. She believes that Edward Smith was the one who was putting me up to exposing her.”
“This girl took 8,800.89 U.S. dollars to go to the UN General Assembly in this hard time where people are suffering in the country. People can barely feed themselves, Saifuah Mai Gray took 8,800.89 US dollars to go to the UN General Assembly, 8,800.89 US dollars. I published the check. When did she take the money, September 17 or 18, I published the check, she took the money,” Costa said of the NOCAL president/CEO.
Hear Costa: “So, Edward Smith was fired today to please Saifuah Mai Gray. This process that our donor partners spent all this money on – five million dollars to do the transition to remove those powers from NOCAL and give those powers to the regulatory body. Of course, this process has been hijacked – and I’m sitting here I am saying to myself so Saifuah Mai Gray is one of the untouchables, one of the special ones, if you’re on her wrong side, you will be in problem in the government – and you know some of my friends reached out to me and said ooo, Costa you know just forget it, this is what we do. This is what we do that makes our leaders to make the wrong mistakes.”
‘Setback’
In a rather stuttering tone of voice, Costa continued: “All day people cussing me for George Weah business. Just like I in their party – just like I’m … what, what – why are they doing that? Because I support the president. But I am disappointed in the president that I support, and I want to let you people know that I will not sit bye and see bad things and keep quiet. I will not do it! Because Liberia is my country!”
Costa told President Weah that his decision that was allegedly influenced by the NOCAL boss, to have fired Smith, has caused a setback in the NOCAL/LPRA transition plan.
“Now, you’ve set the whole process back, Saifuah Mai Gray has won – some of you don’t even know what I am talking about – this is something that our partners spent five freaking million dollars on to do this process; to remove the regulatory function and give it to another body, and Saifuah Mai Gray said she was going to make sure that President Weah fires the man and the man has been fired today – and to what end? Costa wonders, adding in a sarcastic taunt to his critics, “Of course, those of you who think that I’m being paid by the president, well today you know that I am going to lose my job right or my salary will not come this month. My salary will not come this month right? Costa mockingly asked.
“Invectives’
“I was living, I was living before president Weah came to power – what’s wrong with you? I have been living in America for years. I have a good life here. I don’t need friends in the government to live. I don’t need it. I don’t need anybody in the government to exist. When I was fighting Ellen, I was living. That’s what some of your don’t know. I was fighting Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for six years, I was living a good life. This government can add nothing to me and it can take nothing away from me,” blasted Costa, who added while screaming at the peak of his voice that in spite of his support to the Weah-led government, when he feels strongly about something concerning the administration he will say it because Liberian is his home country.
Shouting terrifyingly and stuttering at some point, Costa wonders why President Weah would implement Ms. Gray’s wish in dismissing Smith, saying, “Why should he listen to Saifuah? Why should Saifual Mai Gray dictate to our president and have him fire a competent person because she wants to continue to control NOCAL. Right now as I speak to you, she’s organizing bid rounds, she wants to sell oil blocks – this is the same f**king NOCAL that Rob Sirleaf f**ked up – the same f**king NOCAL – let nobody call me and tell me s**t. I will not listen, I will not listen!”
Still raging, Costa added: “From January till now, I’ve been taking bullets for this government – from January till now, every day they cussing me; Costa is a sellout, Costa is a coward, no! Because I want this president to succeed. When I see him treading the wrong path, I will say it!”
“So Saifual Mai Gray now can dictate to our president and tell him who to fire, who not to fire. Is this the way it works, is this what I settled for to support this government? So that foolish lil [little] girl then like Saifual Mai Gray then can be telling the president to fire somebody because the person is trying to stop something – this is what I settled for? Costa screamed.
The talk radio presenter, who claims he’s not a journalist but a political commentator intimated that he has what he calls a political future in Liberia, a future he says he is not prepared to compromise because of his support to Weah and his government.
“I wanted to send this message loud and clear, especially to those of you who think that because I support this government, when I see wrong, I will not speak to it, said Costa, who insists that Edward Smith was fired based on the influence of NOCAL’s president Ms. Gray – “She said it and she did it, she said I will get him fired, unless I am not a woman, I will get him fired, she said it, and he was fired today.”
Costa, who flared up momentarily in sudden release of strong emotion in his video that he posted on Facebook, then resorted to releasing uncontrollable invectives.
Costa screamed: “It is unfortunate, it is sad it’s very, very sad – the same NOCAL, the same NOCAL that Rob Sirleaf f**ked up, that’s what Saifual Mai [Gray] wants [to] f**K up too! The same f**king NOCAL, that today we are calling for the president to conduct a full scale audit of NOCAL. He has not thought about doing that. He sent Saifual Mai Gray – Saifual Mai Gray, do the f**king transition, do the f**king transition. Turn the f**king powers over to the Regulatory Authority. It was created to do that.”
Costa continued in his abusive mood: “Whole day your will be cussing me; ooo Costa, you sold out to the government – I ain’t sellout s**t – my eating pan ain’t in nobody house – I ain’t sellout s**t! I was living before the government came to power, I got a good f**king life,” Costa stressed, while displaying a wine glass containing a substance that appears like juice.
“Thanks be to God – and as a matter of fact, I am going to tell you this, I am not going to make myself look like f**king a** – I’m supporting the government, I’m doing all the best I can, all the best I can. Promoting the government then I’m being made to look like an idiot,” he frowned.
“Do you know what Saifuah Mai Gray said to me? She was talking all kinds of s**t to me. At the end of the day, Saifuah has won. She got Edward Smith fired to undermine the f**king transition at NOCAL. She said she will not release the money for the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and she has kept her word. She said she was going to get him fired, he’s fired!”
But they can’t fire me. Nobody can can f**king fire me, because I don’t work for nobody, That’s the s**t about Costa. I don’t work for nobody – I don’t work for Benoni Urey (his political godfather ), I don’t work for no f**king body. I’m Henry f**king Costa. When I decide to support you, it is because I mean it. People playing a** out of me all day. They cussing me because of this government. What am I getting? It’s about the country. So this is count one… Count-one, save this video, today is October the 30th, save the video, count-one, count-one (repeatedly saying so while displaying one of his fingers) Count-one! Save the video, I want the word to go forth. I’m not going to go call nobody and say you know I am not feeling good about what the president did. No!
Costa warned President Weah that he’s a strong voice in Liberia, who many people look up to for moral guidance and direction, and that he has been telling those who look up to him to support the president, but he noted that such support will “depend on this government not making me look like a damn a**. If you make me look like a f**king a**, I will withdraw my support…”
“This is wrong! This is count-one, mark it – count-one from Henry Costa. Who the f**k is Saifuah Mai Gray, to be having president fire people – who the f**k is she? What’s the f**k? Who the f**k is she? Costa rudely and loudly asked.
While cunningly laughing, Costa added: “I am Henry Costa ooo, when I’m ready to fight I can fight! Your know me – when I’m ready to go to jail I can go to jail, your know me – I ain’t afraid of anybody, I can fight! And I know how to make government look bad. Your know I can do that. I did it for six f**king years. I can do it again, as long as I feel it’s justified.”
Further registering his displeasure over the decision to fire Smith, Costa countered, “I can fight when I am ready to fight. What your making me to look stupid for? Saifuah Mai Gray and all commanding out president to fire people. This is total BS. Total f**king BS.”
“Nobody in that whole country can fight equal to me, your know that. I can fight. All day the people attacking me – all day the people attacking me – President Weah is a good man? Yes! But why must he be listening to people like Saifuah. I will stop here. I will not say more. Count-one. Remember, count-one. Thank you, bye, bye,” Costa concluded his video.
Punch FM/TV online service on Wednesday contacted the Executive Mansion communications section for response, but Patience Darliah, the Mansion’s director of press informed our executive editor that President Weah’s press secretary was out of his office and she would convey our request for response to him, and he would speak to us if he found it fit to do so.
But up to press time, the presidential press secretary nor the director of press at the Executive Mansion had not communicated back with Punch FM/TV online service.
As at the time of this publication, in spite of frantic efforts exerted by Punch FM/TV online service, NOCAL president/CEO Ms. Saifual Mai Gray could not be reached to respond to Costa’s allegations.
