By:Varney Dukuly
MONROVIA: The Bank that is in charge of running Liberia’s monetary system failed to report US$19,310,559.24 in expenditure during the administration of former President George Weah, the State-owned General Auditing Commission (GAC) revealed this year in a 233-page audit report.
“Management assertion did not adequately address issues raised,” said Liberia’s Auditor-General, P. Garswa Jackson.
“Management did not provide explanation and evidence of authorization for spending in excess of the approved budget from FY2018 to FY2022, amounting to US$19,310,559.24,” the audit report indicated.
The report detailed record-keeping problems at the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), an autonomous institution being overseeing by the Legislature.
According to the audit report, CBL made excessive expenditures and failed to account for the funds during these years.
The CBL management categorically rejected some of the GAC findings in its response.
“The Central Bank of Liberia budget is approved by the Board of Governors, and there are strict financial management adherences to the approved budget,” the CBL wrote.
Regarding the 2020 budget, the Bank stated that although the 2020 budget was not formally approved, there was a board resolution consistent with the budget approval process of the bank.
The Bank denied over-expenditure from its budget line and financial statement, which the GAC had analyzed based on its audit.
The auditor’s report stressed that the Central Bank of Liberia did not provide substantive justification for consistently exceeding approved revenue projections and facilitating deficit financing for FY2018 – FY2022.
According to the audit report, there was no explanation for the apparent understatement of revenue projections for FY2019 – FY2022, as actual collections consistently exceeded revenue projections for those years.
The auditor general’s office said the CBL did not provide evidence for periodic budget performance reports during and after the audit execution as contained in the Bank’s response.
In one case, the audit reported that management did not make available approved budget and financial statements for FY2023 for audit purposes.
Additionally, evidence of subsequent approval for the recast budget for FY2020 was also not available for audit purposes, the GAC added.
“Therefore, we maintain our findings and recommendations,” Jackson said, noting that the GAC “will follow up on the implementation of our recommendations during subsequent audits.”
Meanwhile, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has suspended, with immediate effect, CBL Executive Governor, Aloysius Tarlue.
Addressing journalists at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah disclosed that Governor Tarlue was suspended in connection to the recent report of the General Auditing Commission (GAC).
