By: Mafilla Kamara

The Director of Donor Financed Project at Project Financial Management Unit, Ministry of Finance and Development Planning has denied allegations that the fire outbreak was staged.

On early Wednesday, fire gutted the third floor of the Ministry of Finance where the Project Financial Management Unit is located.

Following the incident, several Liberians took to social media, accusing the PFM officials of deliberately stage-managing the fire incident.

However, in an interview with this station after firefighters managed to put the situation under control, Director Papie Daniels calls on the public to be patient and allow the investigators to do their work.

At the same time, Director Daniel clarified that only the administrative wing got destroyed stressing that all other classified financial documents are all in tight.

While describing the incident as a complete setback, he said most of the documents that got damaged are administrative documents and not financial documents.

Meanwhile, in a statement after the incident, the Ministry of Finance said during the early morning hours of Wednesday, October 25 2023, fire gutted one of the offices on the third floor of the Ministry of Finance and Development planning.

The Ministry also thanks the National Fire Service and its staff for their gallantry in extinguishing this fire and saving a critical national asset.

With the support of the Liberia National Fire Service and workers of the Ministry of Finance, the fire has been successfully extinguished, with no loss of lives or injuries.

We also wish to inform the public that Central Government financial records were not affected by the fire outbreak.

The Liberia National Fire Service has collected relevant information and is investigating the cause of the fire. The outcome of the Fire Service investigation and report will be made public, including the extent of the damages to the section of the third floor.

While this investigation is ongoing, the Ministry of Finance wishes to inform and assure its staff, the business community, taxpayers, and general public; that regular operations have resumed.