Mr. Kedrick White, the Liberian contractor responsible for the construction of the property of Gwen and Gus Brooks, has described as unfortunate the utterances made in a video by Mr. Gus Brooks and posted on the BC website.
Mr. Brooks contracted the services of Mr. White, who engages in the construction of homes, etc., in Liberia to build a house in Paynesville on the outskirts of Monrovia. The value of the final house plan selected by the Brooks family, Mr. White claims, was clearly stated to be more than the estimated cost of - thirty five thousand dollars, an amount which was attached to an earlier plan that Mr. Brooks and his wife had rejected and opted for a much larger plan.
In good faith, Mr. White stated, he continued with the building of the house until at the point when the amount of thirty-five thousand dollars had been spent. Mr. Brooks and his wife now feel that such amount was not invested in the structure. The fact that Mr. White had communicated to the Brooks family before the start of the project was the first specific information that the Brooks Lawyer was looking for when he handled the case two years ago. (See a copy of the email correspondence below). Mr. White continued that the second specific information the Brooks Lawyer needed was to determine construction value at the stoppage. Mr. White added that this issue had been concluded with discussions between him and Mr. Brooks in the presence of the Brooks Lawyer at the Sharks Restaurant in the Sinkor Airfield area during Mr. Brooks Visit to Liberia.
Speaking to the BC during a guided tour of the property in Liberia, Mr. White said that the house in question was built according to specifications. Mr. White showed the BC video crew the walls which were solid and not crumbling and said that the house has been sitting for the past three years and is still in stable condition, although it was built in a sandy and swampy locale.
On the issue of the roof which Mr. Brooks had described on video as being totally rusty and useless, Mr. White noted that the zinc used for the construction that was purchased from Sethi Brothers in Monrovia and was advertised as 32-guage alloy. However, he continued that Sethi Brothers Company has been accused by several consumers of bringing in sub standard materials for the Liberian market, since the zinc they brought in was of low quality and quick to rust. The BC visited several other construction sites where the Sethi zinc lay rusting on roofs less than three years old. Mr. White then noted that issue was all about the supply and not about the quality of his work. He also stated that zinc was purchased at the tail end of the purchases which meant that it took a bit longer to realize this zinc was a part of the bad consignment. Several other persons have complained Sethi to the government but there have been no redress in the case at this time.
In a story written by Dominic Farley in 2008, he said, “But according to credible report gathered by this paper, most of the people who bought the alumina zinc for their projects have reportedly been victimized as a result of the poor quality of the product.
One of the victims of the Sethi’s alleged criminal act is the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment (LACE). According to reports, every piece of zinc used by LACE on its projects across the country is getting rusty, and this has prompted the Non-Governmental Organizational (NGO) to inform the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on the behavior of Sethi. Meanwhile, sources at the Commerce Ministry have confirmed the action of Sethi Brothers. Sethi has reportedly agreed to refund customers’ money especially those who will return the goods with receipts indicating that the products were bought from its entity.” Mr. White noted during the tour, that there was no way to return the zinc even at the time since it had been installed on the roof top, and that it is all wasted effort to pursue that course due to the “LIB” system of doing things here. Many others still are pushing for a class action suit against Sethi.
Speaking further on the size of the construction and the cost of thirty five thousand dollars for the job, Mr. White said that he had presented several plans to the Brooks family to choose. He continued that the family had chosen a larger building and that they were told that more money would be needed to build the structure.
One of the complaints of the Brook’s family was that Mr. White continued to request for more money during the course of the construction. Mr. White on the other hand noted that all you have to do is to see the size of house that was built. “So, to hear Gus say openly that I have treated him and his wife in such a fashion as described in the video is very sad. Mr. White stated that he attempted to repair the minor wall cracks in two small areas but his crew was asked to leave the grounds by Gwen while she was in Liberia or else, so he ordered his crew out. Meanwhile, Mr. White provided the number of Mr. Brooks lawyer who he said had visited the site and was quite impressed with the level of work done on the structure.
The house is shown in the accompanying video and the video covers the sunken living room, several rooms, the front and the side where the garage is located. The land is located on sandy swampy soil in a grassy area. A church is being built in the front yard of the house and the church authorities are offering to buy the house since it is so close to their premises.
Many Liberians wanting to build homes at home are employing the use of construction firms and individuals. But the issue is that the expectations for what they spend far exceed what they finally get. Sometimes they are justified for their expectations, other times they are not.
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