MONROVIA: Former Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Samuel D. Tweah Jr., has startlingly revealed that the International Monetary Fund (IMF), during his administration at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), forced the erstwhile Government of Liberia, headed by former President George Manneh Weah, to include US$300 million borrowed by the Unity Party (UP), during its previous twelve-year rule, into Liberia’s official debt statistics.
Ex-Minister Tweah disclosed that more than US$300 million was borrowed by the Unity Party-led government of Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf without any financial record.
Tweah who has been indicted along with other former Government officials, in his statement, posted on his official Facebook Page added that the Unity Party (UP) borrowed US$300 Million from the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) and that the borrowing was hidden from the Liberian public.
“Yes, it had to take the IMF to force us to include this borrowing in Liberia’s official debt statistics. More than US $300 million in borrowing with no financial record. As minister, I resisted this attempt but the IMF argued that they do not make distinction between UP-Governed Liberia and a CDC-Governed Liberia, so we had to include the borrowing in the debt,” Tweah stated.
According to the him, the former Government, led by ex-President Weah compromised with the IMF in the interest of Liberians and the IMF program, but took about US$100 million off the stock of hidden debts, which is still hanging at the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL).
According to the former Finance Minister, IMF told the former Government of President Weah that they could audit the ‘hanging debt’ at some future date but the Program had to go on, so, they included more than US$200 million.
Tweah insisted that the official records of the borrowed money are at the CBL and that his witness is the IMF.
In his post, Ex-Minister Tweah stated that the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) will win the now ruling Unity Party (UP), any day on audits and “nothing will distort that record.”
Tweah: “Let’s take the audit of the CBL and Consolidated Accounts. UP verses CDC: CDC wins.”
The ex-Finance and Development Planning Minister also called on the National Legislature to open enquiry into “these matters of record less borrowing from the CBL by Unity Party”.
He continued: “Under our IMF program, former President Weah ended borrowing to high praise from the International Community for straight three years.
“We had to borrow to pay Government workers in an election year and there will never be a finance Minister who will not borrow from CBL in an election year if revenue is being challenged.
“So, bring out the audit debates but do so factually and in an environment of law. For audit of the Government Consolidated Accounts, or of the use of our revenue, CDC wins again.
“For most years under UP, General Auditing Commission (GAC) had to disclaim. Disclaiming means the GAC cannot even make sense of the audit.
“There is no financial information to base the audit on. This was UP-appointed GAC disclaiming UP’s public finances. This was the auditing mess we inherited from the UP in 2018,” he asserted.
Mr. Tweah mentioned that they worked to turn the situation around. “Imagine the auditors disclaiming against US$500 million in revenue under UP verses questioning US$50 million that may lead to an adverse opinion under the CDC. How can you even compare the two scenarios? No audit under the CDC was ever disclaimed”.
“We said all these facts in 2023 but they were drowned out and buried under the intensity and brouhaha of the election. President Boakai and the UP have engendered the best atmosphere now in which to discuss audits in Liberia and the general question of public accountability,” he declared.
He called on Liberians to “advise the Government to stop threatening judges about signing constitutionally mandated bails.”
Tweah stated that he is “coming to Liberia to gladly take on this fight but, will do so only under an ambiance of the rule of law not under a regime of lawlessness where showmanship trumps the substance of the real change Liberians are clamoring for.”
The whereabouts of the former Finance and Development Planning Minister, now charged by the Unity Party (UP), led Government, headed by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, with multiple crimes including misapplication of public money, theft among others remain unknown.
According to Tweah, all audit reports under the UP will come outside because they did not go after them is not the issue, but the wrongs were perpetrated and the public has the right to know about those wrongs, and they will, and should expose those wrongs”.
“The UP’s imagined battle for optics on audit will be fought on those grounds and the Liberians in the INDEPENDENT MOVABLE Middle will decide the verdict! This decision is being made under conditions of economic hardship as prices continue to skyrocket in Liberia under UP,” he said.
Tweah also revealed that health workers are planning a major protest because the ruling UP “took from the budget about US$7 million the CDC inserted to increase the pay for health workers as promised by former President Weah under a new health pay grade.”
“They have also not ‘reversed harmonization,’ whatever that clause means, since there is no economic or financial meaning to it. To reverse harmonization is to collapse the country the same day. Government payroll’s pre-harmonization was an IMMORAL MESS of inequality with security personnel and teachers making as low as USD 45 per month while others made as high as USD 15,000 a month, with thousands of teachers and health workers not even on payroll. It was the CDC that brought them on payroll! Pay under UP was based on ‘who knows you’ where a minster, managing a general allowance can pay his driver US$2,000 a month while doctors make US$700 a month. It was the CDC that took doctors pay to US$2000. So, we await the so-called return to Pre-Harmonization era under the UP,” he further asserted.
Tweah: “On procurement governance, the UP accused the CDC of passing ETON and EBOMAF in violation of procurement tenets. Well, now in power, the UP has delivered a yellow machine disaster which makes both ETON and EBOMAF look like a kind of ‘GOLD STANDARD’ IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT. At least the Legislature was involved in ETON and EBOMAF.”
For the yellow machines, Tweah indicated that few individuals decided for the country with reckless disregard of laws only because “UP had to be seen by Liberians as doing something in the same way former President Weah’s first six months presented countless deliverables.”
He added: “They illegally brought machines that President’s letter to lawmakers acknowledged. But here, the Witch-hunter is pleading for legislative mercy! Oh I see!
“When he and his people commit wrongs, President Boakai begs for mercy. When he PERCEIVES others may have committed wrong, he witch hunts,” added in his writeup.
According to Ex-M minister Tweah, “The country is split down the middle with diehard CIDICIANS, diehard UPISTS, other parties and Liberian voters who reside in what I call the ‘INDEPENDENT MOVABLE MIDDLE,’ where we aim to stage the ensuing political battles. When we are done talking about the President’s breach of CBL laws and the economic impact of that violation, the Oldman may be looking for someone to fire, but the President can fire himself.”
Tweah: “Using Liberia’s reserve money, CDC accumulated through its reforms under the IMF program, President Boakai forced the CBL to illegally pay US$8 million without the involvement of the IMF to a bank that took depositors money to finance the UP Campaign.
“This is what the IMF and World Bank are now horrified by. They are now asking whether the so-called fight against corruption is about the optics of seeing people in handcuffs or jails or about ending substantive wrongdoing in public finance in Liberia! Charade under which the UP continues to pillage our resources but use the accident of its political ascendancy to witch-hunt and pretend as if it is serious about fighting corruption,” Tweah narrated.
Tweah: “Do you want to understand how to credibly save a financial institution. Ask the CDC and the IMF how this was transparently and credibly done under former President WEAH and without the Public knowing a thing about it.
“All these UP shenanigans are visible to the international community who, by now, understands Liberia and Liberians more than is being imagined. Making louder noise about accountability does not do the trick because it is just that NOISE.”
“When we return, we will join the mass of our people in turning up the HEAT on the UP and its failures to date. While we are doing all this, we will be telling Liberians the UP is way off track and the macro fundamentals have weakened since we left power! As if we even need to remind Liberians of this. No finance minister and a new one who has no clue about what development plan is or will be about. Disaster.
“This is at best a transitional Government with no strategic vision. Liberia wallows in a state of leaderless crisis as the fundamental challenges hurting the country go unattended, worsening by the day.
“Placing political optics and politics over the quality of real law-abiding governance is never a good strategy for a ruling party with responsibility for 5 million Liberians.
“We, CDC, no longer have that responsibility and ours now is to hold your feet to the fire. That moment is now and we are coming for that. To the Unity Party, I must conclude by saying that although your audits are worse than audits under the CDC, your attempt to use power to distort this reality for electoral purposes has fallen flat and will be fiercely RESISTED. YOUR WITCH-HUNTS against my person, I see as a CATAPULT so bring it on,” Tweah concluded. Writes Linda Gbartie
