By Bridgett Milton
An audit report in the possession of this paper says the management of the Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS) is in good financial standing and not a dime was misused or misappropriated, contradicting an accusation made against the entity by a lawmaker here.
Through a communication before the full plenary of the House of Representatives, Montserrado County Electoral District #11 Representative Richard Koon recently accused the management of LISGIS of allegedly misappropriating US$1.1 million out of US$1.8 million intended for the National Census.
Koon wrote the House of Representatives accusing the Director of Census, Eddie Williams, and Senior Administrators at LISGIS of allegedly tampering with government funds intended to incorporate donors’ support for the upcoming census.
Rep. Koon said that of the $1.8 Million USD deposited into the account of LISGIS by the Liberian government, Director Eddie Williams and LISGIS Management could only account for 700, 000 USD to UNFPA, prompting international partners to withhold their support for the upcoming census.
Despite the allegations from the lawmaker and his quest for forensic audit, the General Auditing Commission and BDO/LLP based in the United Kingdom have conducted a separate audit on LISGIS which proved that the management of LISGIS is in good financial standing.
The auditors indicated that donors’ funds were also audited which clear LISGIS of financial malpractices.
This paper also gathered that LISGIS has been audited on the Census project activities both by the GAC under the HSIWA Project and UNFPA/LISGIS HACT Audit done by BDO LLP for the period January 1- December 31, 2021.
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The GAC audit report expressed an Unqualified Opinion while the HACT audit report expressed an unmodified opinion.
When this paper contacted the Manager of LISGIS about the allegation from the lawmaker, he declined to comment officially on grounds that the management of LISGIS is expected to appear before the plenary of the House to provide detailed information.
He said by speaking to the media ahead of appearing before the House of Representatives, shows some level of disrespect to that august body.
