PAC scrutinizes 6 audit reports

The Joint Public Account, Expenditure and Audit Committee (PAC) of the Liberian Legislature has scrutinized six audit reports emanating from the General Auditing Commission or GAC.

The reports include the Ministries of Public Works, Agriculture and Youth and Sports and the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation, Liberia Electricity Corporation and the National Oil Company of Liberia.

The committee detailed that the revision process was followed by conduct of public hearings, but identified flaws as reported by Auditor General Madam Yosador Saadatu Gaye, ranging from procurement malpractices, poor human resource management practices, ineffective project monitoring mechanism, internal control issues and inadequate banking reconciliation, among others.
It drew a general conclusion about the existence of systematic weaknesses within the procurement and monitoring of construction contracts offered by government Ministries and Agencies.

The committee further recommends that the Internal Audit Agency enforced  a robust implementation of the Auditor  General recommendations on internal control issues and subsequently furnish the Auditor General on the progress attained.

The committee has also requested that all funds to be restituted should be deposited into the Government of Liberia’s recovery account established at the Central Bank of Liberia by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning and copies of flag receipts provided to the Chairman of the Joint Public Account Audit and Expenditure Committee and the Auditor General respectively and issues of Financial Irregularity  with legal implications handled by the Ministry of Justice in consonance with its mandate.

By Bridgett Milton -Editing by Jonathan Browne