Monrovia – The Joint Public Accounts, Audit and Expenditure Committee (PAC) of the Nationwide Legislature has concluded its evaluation of 12 audit experiences from key authorities ministries and companies, revealing thousands and thousands of United States {dollars} in undisclosed expenditures and vital monetary improprieties.
By Obediah Johnson
The findings, primarily based on experiences launched by the Common Auditing Fee (GAC), had been formally submitted to the Plenary of the Liberian Senate below the signature of PAC Co-Chair Senator Amara Konneh.
The PAC includes lawmakers from each the Home of Representatives and the Senate and is remitted by Part 4.2 of the GAC Act to conduct hearings and supply suggestions to the President primarily based on audit outcomes.
The audit experiences cowl the Liberia Water and Sewer Company (LWSC); the Cote d’Ivoire-Liberia-Sierra Leone-Guinea Rural Electrification (CLSG-RE) Undertaking; the Nationwide Bureau of Concessions (NBC); the Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Company (NDMA); the Liberia Alternatives Industrialization Heart (LOIC); the Bong County Growth Fund and Social Growth Fund; the Nationwide Street Fund (NRF); the Nationwide Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA); the Liberia Street Asset Administration Undertaking (LIBRAMP); the Nationwide Transit Authority (NTA); and the Central Financial institution of Liberia (CBL).
In accordance with the PAC, these audits had been completely reviewed throughout a technical retreat performed in collaboration with the Auditor Common and his workforce. The evaluations confirmed quite a few irregularities, together with failure to reconcile financial institution transactions, unauthorized funds to 3rd events, unsupported expenditures, discrepancies in financial institution overdrafts, and mismanagement of funds allotted for catastrophe reduction.
The committee additionally cited failure by a number of entities to remit worker withholding taxes to the Liberia Income Authority (LRA), which constitutes a breach of monetary rules. The audit evaluation was guided by the Public Monetary Administration Act, the Public Procurement and Concessions Act, nationwide funds legal guidelines, and worldwide greatest practices.
“The findings symbolize a reconciled and validated place between the PAC and the Common Auditing Fee,” the committee famous. “They spotlight systemic weaknesses in public monetary administration and the pressing want for institutional reform.”
The Senate Plenary has agreed to debate the report and its suggestions. Upon approval, the report shall be forwarded to President Joseph Boakai for potential govt motion. An identical report from the Home of Representatives’ PAC has already been endorsed and submitted to the President.
