Monrovia, Liberia – Former Defense Minister Brownie J. Samukai has issued a blunt warning to Liberian politicians seeking to influence the deployment of the government’s yellow earth-moving machines, declaring that the equipment will not be sent to private farms or used for the personal benefit of political figures.
Samukai, who chairs the coordinating committee for the Yellow Machines Board of Authority and serves as National Coordinator of the Special Presidential Project Coordinating Committee, made the statement Thursday during the Ministry of Information’s regular press briefing.
He said the deployment of the machines will be controlled through an established county-level coordination structure and will not be dictated by individual politicians.
“Those machines will not go to politicians’ private farms,” Samukai declared. “Let me make that very clear. They will not go to any individual private farm.”
He went further, warning politicians against attempting to direct where the machines should be deployed or what projects they should undertake.
“No politician will tell the machine where to go, how they want it to be done,” he said.
According to Samukai, each county will have a designated coordinator who will represent the Special Presidential Project Coordinating Committee and exercise authority over the movement of the machines within the county.
He said the names of individuals nominated to serve as county coordinators would be announced, with the coordinators expected to work alongside county authorities and local engineers to ensure that approved projects are implemented.
Samukai explained that the machines will not simply be moved at the request of individuals.
“The machines cannot and will not move until he tells the machine to move,” he said, referring to the designated county coordinator.
He added that the coordinator would receive instructions from Monrovia regarding approved projects and would work with county authorities and local engineers to execute them.
At the county level, Samukai said, the decision on where the machines should be deployed will be based on projects already presented and agreed upon by county leadership, rather than personal requests from politicians.
“It is the leadership of the county, both the elected officials and the appointed officials in the county, who make that determination by what they have presented already,” he said.
Samukai’s remarks come amid heightened public interest in the deployment of the government’s heavy-duty equipment and concerns over whether the machines could be diverted for political or private use.
The former defense minister appeared particularly emphatic in ruling out political control.
“Now when I say no to the politician, I really mean no. Don’t waste your time,” Samukai said.
He also disclosed that politicians had previously attempted to recommend individuals for machine-operator positions, a practice he said he rejected when qualifications did not match the technical requirements of the jobs.
Samukai questioned how someone with an accounting degree and no experience in a mechanic shop or operating heavy equipment could be recommended to operate a front-end loader.
He said the program needs qualified operators because there are no unnecessary office positions being created simply to accommodate political recommendations.
“There is no small office to build roads. We need operators to do so,” he said.
Samukai also sought to clarify concerns about employment and compensation for operators, including women participating in the program.
“Yes, they’re going to get paid,” he said, adding that all operators are working under contracts.
He disclosed that the first group of operators began training in April and underwent three months of training focused on the operation and movement of the machines.
The coordinator said the equipment program is intended to support approved public works and development projects rather than serve as a vehicle for political patronage.
