The Joint Public Account Committee of the 55th Legislature has officially Launched public hearings on the audit reports prepared by the Auditor General’s office. Despite the completion of approximately 180 reports in the last three years, no public hearings have been conducted on any of them, according to the Auditor General.
The Chairman of the Public Account, Expenditure, and Audit Committee of the Liberian Senate, Amara Konneh indicated that overly sound finances and excessive implementation of the rule of law are bedrocks for a country to be wealthy.
Senator Konneh said the Auditor General has done an excellent job in close to three years to produce almost two hundred audit reports and the job of the 55th Legislature is to open the reports out to the public to know what is in the report based on the public hearings.
He assured that the recommendations from the PAC to the Legislature and to the President will not be manufactured. He stressed that in the case where there are compliance issues, they will be counting on the new heads of Ministries and Agencies to fix those problems.
The 55th PAC aims to address this issue and ensure that all audit reports undergo thorough review through public hearings and due process. The goal is to provide recommendations to the President based on the audit findings in compliance with the law. This endeavor aligns with the President’s anti-corruption agenda outlined in the ARREST Agenda.
Meanwhile, The President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate says that besides support to the Public Account, Expenditure, and Audits Committee, the Legislature should set an example for transparency and accountability in the Country.
At the official opening ceremony of the public hearing into the Auditor General’s Report by the Joint Public Accounts, Expenditure and Audit Committee (PAC) of the Legislature, Pro-tempore Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence said it is against that backdrop that the Liberian Senate under her leadership invited the General Auditing Commission (GAC) on the assessment of the financial management system of the Liberian Senate which she added has been concluded.
Further, the Pro-Temp noted that the Senate has received the report from the GAC and that the Body has agreed for the GAC to send a team to ensure that a system is set with the right people to manage the financial system at the Legislature, noting that the Senate in the next two years will be opened to audit.
According to her, if the Legislature is not audited, it is difficult to exert oversight over institutions it wants to be accountable.
Pro-Temp Lawrence at the same time cautioned the GAC to be very timely in their works because there are laws that might have to be considered, adding “The faster we work the better we can implement those results and the Executive can have a timely report for implementation”.
Madam Lawrence also encouraged the PAC Committee to remain committed because it is the committee that will set the stage for credible governance.
In conclusion, the Protemp acknowledged that as leaders of the Legislature, they are committed to ensuring that Integrity Institutions have financial independence and will also provide oversight to ensure timely disbursement so that the works of Integrity Institutions can be done in the interest of transparency and accountability.
For his part, Auditor General P. Garsua Jackson disclosed that within nearly three years of his leadership at the General Auditing Commission, he has issued 184 audit reports for both government entities and donor’s funded projects to the Legislature through the Joint Public Account, Expenditure, and Audit committee.
The reports, AG Jackson said includes, the Country’s first Post-war Comprehensive National Payroll Audit, Domestic Debt Audit, and the Audit of the Consolidated Account for fiscal years 2019-2020 and 2022 among others.
The Public hearings for the AG reports will commence this Wednesday with the appearance of authorities of the Ministry of Public Works (MPW), the Monrovia City Cooperation (MCC), and the Liberia Opportunities Industrialization Center (LOIC).
