Africa-Press – Liberia. A Liberian integrity watch group, CENTAL, is calling for investigation into audit findings on off-budget spending in government.
The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia, or CENTAL, is urging the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) to investigate off-budget spending in the General Auditing Corruption audit findings in a timely and thorough manner.
“We therefore urge the LACC to timely and thoroughly investigate off-budget spending under the disbursement of health, education, and other critical sectors that are corruption-related.”
CENTAL Executive Director Anderson D. Maimen told a news conference late Wednesday evening, September 10, at his organization’s headquarters in Sinkor, Monrovia.
Maimen recalled how the Commission published findings of its audit of the Government of Liberia Consolidated Funds Account Financial Statement for the period January 1, to December 31, 2024.
He quotes Section 4 of the amended Public Financial Management Act of 2019, noting that the consolidated fund account is where all government revenues from taxes, fees, fines, and other sources are deposited and disbursed, based on budgetary appropriations.
Accordingly, he said, amongst many others, the audit revealed several inadequacies in systems for revenue collection, disbursement without supporting documents, and the inability to disburse funds as allotted in the national budget to institutions and sectors providing critical public services, such as health and education.
Key specific findings of the report include:
He observed that the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) had not expanded its revenue reporting software (ASYCUDA and LITAS) to rural collectorates, which would ensure greater transparency in the tax system and reduce the likelihood of corruption.
There is a gap in efficient revenue generation, which is compounded by the lack of adequate personnel deployed by LRA at rural tax collection centers, a finding validated during one of our engagements with stakeholders in Gbarnga, Bong County, he said.
Maimen reported that over US$2.8 million was disbursed by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), exceeding what was approved through the national budget.
“We see this revelation by the audit as very concerning, especially since this administration has been previously accused of disregard for the budget and the Public Financial Management (PFM) Laws by spending off-budget with zero approval from the national legislature.”
He reveals that there is an under disbursement of approved appropriations in the national budget in the tone of US$78,289,600, which affected a total of 106 ministries and agencies, and that 11 State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) assessed to have paid US$ 10,160,233.98 as income tax, but made a payment of US$5,669,672.88 far less than what was required to be paid, thus leading to substantial revenue loss.
The tough-talking CENTAL Boss says those observations leave one to wonder whether the government’s desire to increase resource mobilization is commensurate with commitments from its agents.
CENTAL, he says, is deeply troubled by these audit findings, which show continuous gross weakness in the government’s revenue collection and financial management systems and processes, he adds.
Similar audits of the consolidated account financial statements in previous years have shown even more worrying trends, which indicate that the national government is not doing enough to break away from the ugly past in some areas. This needs urgent attention.
He urged the LACC to review the key findings of the audit reports, especially those that reference violations of the Public Financial Management Law (PFM), including allegations of off-budget spending and other related matters.
The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission should investigate off-budget spending, under-disbursement to health, education, and other critical sectors, and other performance and accountability-related issues raised by the audit report in a timely and thorough manner.
The findings and recommendations of the investigation must be published and implemented promptly, including holding those implicated in any wrongdoing fully accountable for their actions and inactions.
“We urge the Joint Public Accounts Committee of the Legislature to timely review and conduct inclusive public hearings on findings of audit report on the Consolidated Account. The outcomes of such hearings must be documented and fully implemented by the Presidency to hold any wrongdoers accountable.”
He further called on citizens to demand that the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and other government spending entities fully comply with the PFM law and other regulations relating to public spending, to properly safeguard and utilize public resources to impact the lives of ordinary citizens positively.
We call on the General Auditing Commission and the Civil Service Agency to engage with the leadership of the Judiciary to timely conduct financial, credential, and other audits of the Judiciary so that existing corruption and other related issues can be identified and addressed, he concluded.
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