—Horrible 12 Million Spent Outside Civil Service System @ Ministry of State 2018-2024-GAC Report Unveils
IPNEWS: The General Auditing Commission (GAC) completed and submitted audit report of the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs (MOS) during the periods of January 2028-Janaury 2024, has unveiled unspeakable spending of taxpayers money without adherence to the statute creating the Civil Service of Liberia.
The report evaluates the financial management systems under the leadership of Nathaniel Farlo McGill (January 2018 to August 2021), G. Wesseh Blamo (August 2021 to January 2024), and Sylvester M. Grigsby (January 2024 to present).
According to the GAC the audit was instituted to evaluate whether the Ministry’s financial management systems and processes align with legislative decisions, laws, policies, and established codes with the overriding objective to provide recommendations for improvements, promoting prudent financial management practices within the Ministry.
Key Findings
The GAC’s evaluation process identified significant issues in various areas, including governance, budget management, financial reporting, personnel management, procurement, inventory, fixed assets, and information technology management.
In the GAC revision of the Supplementary Payroll Management, the GAC found no policy governing the hiring and management of supplementary personnel.
The Civil Service Agency (CSA) was unaware of a supplementary payroll comprising 739 individuals, with an annual salary of $2,622,060, exceeding regular staff salaries by more than 50%. There was no evidence of budgeting and reporting these salaries, with funds redirected from other budget lines, including consultancy, without proper authorization from the Deputy Minister of Budget and the CSA.
The GAC audit further reveals that the Ministry of State during this period show No approved salary structure existed for these personnel, and there was no documentation of competitive recruitment or performance evaluations.
The GAC noted duplicated National Identification (NID) numbers among some personnel, raising concerns about identity verification.
Under the Cash Management system at the Ministry of State, the GAC audit established that bank accounts were opened at the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) without the required approval, potentially facilitating unauthorized transactions.
Four undisclosed accounts at the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI), holding $38,835.95 and L$55,145.72, were found, including a “JULY 26 Celebrations Escrow Account” with suspicious transactions totaling $878,295.34.
On the revision of the Personnel Management system, the GAC reports that the Ministry of State lacked complete personnel records, including application letters, employment contracts, qualifications, job descriptions, and security clearances. This deficiency affected numerous employees.
Five employees beyond the retirement age were still on the payroll without evidence of retirement arrangements.
On the controversial Presidential Projects Management which the Ministry of State supervises, GAC identified irregularities in the management of several parks constructed by the Presidential Special Project Department/Section. There was no policy or procedure for managing these parks.
The parks were outsourced to Green Park Management Incorporated (GPM Inc.) by the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) without a competitive bidding process or evidence of expertise in park management. The agreement lacked provisions for fee regulation, capital recovery, and revenue sharing, potentially affecting the financial sustainability of the parks.
The GAC final outcomes of its audit of the Ministry of State concludes that Ministry’s financial management systems did not comply with key regulations, including the Revenue Code of Liberia Act of 2011, Public Financial Management Act 2009 (Amended 2019), Public Procurement and Concessions Act of 2005 (Amended 2010), Civil Service Standing Order, and Decent Work Act of 2015.
The authoritative Independent Probe is still yet to get responses from named former Ministers up to press time. We bring their responses in our subsequent publication.
