Commissioner Captan Accuse of Undermining MCC

-As Reports Emerge Of Congo Town Township ‘Collecting Taxes’

Documents in possession of this paper accused the Commissioner of the Township of Congo Town, Madam Ade Captan, wife of former Liberian Foreign Minister Monie R. Captain, of allegedly engaging in illegal collections of taxes and municipal fees from businesses in the Township of Congo Town, Monrovia, in direct contravention of the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) and the Township of Congo Town.

Congo Town Township Commissioner, Ade Captan

Section 1.3.4 of the 2012 MOU reached between the MCC and the Congo Town Township in Monrovia gave the MCC the exclusive power to collect taxes from businesses in the Congo Town Township. Section 1.3.4 of the 2012 MOU states that “MCC shall be the sole collecting authority clothed with the responsibility to impose and collect local taxes including bill boards and other fees from business operation within the township and shall issue receipt evidencing each transaction.”

The duration of the MOU also states that “This MOU shall have perpetual existence and shall remain the working and legal authority of the MCC from time to time unhindered.” However, despite the agreement reached with the MCC, the Captan led administration, headed by Madam Ade Captan, is said to be going contrary to the provisions stipulated in the MOU, and that she’s reportedly involved in the collection and taxing of businesses in the Township of Congo Town. Also, documents in the possession of this news medium also point to this effect.

“The Office of the Commissioner of the Township of Congo Town wishes to inform Businesses operating within the Township of Congo Town to make the payment of all municipal taxes and fees to the office of the Commissioner of Congo Town as they have done during previous years,” a notice from the office of Commissioner Captan, dated 4^th April 2018, instructed businesses in the Congo Town Township. Commissioner Captan’s notice further instructed that: “Accordingly, the office of the Commissioner of the Township of Congo Town will be opened from Monday to Friday every week from 9:00 AM to 5:00PM, as anyone making payment should ensure that genuine receipt is obtained from the office of the Commissioner   of the Township of Congo Town.”

Commissioner Captan’s communication to businesses within Congo Town Township also warned that: “Let this information claim the attention of all concerned businesses and individuals within the Township of Congo Town.”

It is also alleged that the commissioner organized some residents and business people within the township to protest against the government of President George Weah to redefine the status of the township of Congo Town.

When contacted for response, the office of Commissioner Captan gave conflicting information to a team of journalists who had gone to inquire her side of the story. Alvin Brown, Clerk of the office of Commissioner Captan, informed journalists that his boss was on a serious duty at the Capitol Building, while another gentleman, also an employee in the office of the Commissioner, who declined calling his name to the press, claimed the Commissioner normally do not come to work on Fridays and therefore, there was no other means for the journalists to talk to her.

According to them, Commissioner Captan gave them straight order not to disclose her contacts (Telephone numbers) to anyone for reason best known to herself.

While the public awaits Commissioner Captan’s official response on the damaging allegation charged against her, there are reports that she has already collected millions of dollars from businesses situated within the Congo Town Township, but this paper has not independently corroborated those pieces of information relative to her alleged illegitimate dubious financial transactions within the township.

“I have received two different notices. On April 4^th, 2018, the office of the Commissioner of Congo Town notified me that I should pay my tax to her office and not the Monrovia City Corporation(MCC). Also, on 20^th April 2018, the MCC issued a notice to us that we should not pay taxes to the Congo Town Commissioner because they’re not clothed with the responsibility to collect taxes. As a result of these two instructions, I am confused on what exactly to do right now. I think the MCC and the Township should handle their differences because this is affecting my business. Just this morning, I lost a lot of customers, and my business, including other businesses within the township, are being seriously affected by this confusion between the MCC and the Township of Congo Town,” David Lagree, General Manager of the Ghana Chop Bar, a popular entertainment center situated at the SKD Boulevard Junction, informed a team of investigative journalists in Monrovia Friday, 18^th April 2018 during an exclusive interview.