GAC launches 5-year strategic plan

Liberia’s General Auditing Commission or GAC has launched and formally adopted a five-year strategic plan showcasing the prospect and achievements of the Commission. The GAC said in a release issued Wednesday, 3 August that the 2016-2020 Plan of Action covers three primary goals that will guide the Commission in its operations and programs over the five-year period.

“The Strategic Plan, a well-designed program, will be revised and reviewed on a periodic basis to meet the needs and demands of the rapidly changing environment,” the GAC said. The Auditor General of Liberia, Madam Yusador S. Gaye, who officially launched the strategic plan, expressed the hope that the new GAC would be a professional Supreme Audit Institution that promotes trust, accountability, transparency and value for money in the management of public resources.

According to Auditor General Gaye, the new Strategic Plan seeks to also play a vital role in assisting the Joint Public Accounts, Expenditure and Audit Committee and the PAC of the Legislature to hold the government to account for its stewardship of public resources and funds provided by development partners, as well as assuring transparency in government operations.

She said the the new GAC strategic plan is more service-oriented in terms of what to be done as required by its mandate, assuring that every effort would be exerted to ensure the implementation of the new plan.

She asserted that it would also require the inputs and efforts of collaborating partners, including Liberian integrity institutions, to ensure quality audits, emphasizing the need to be on the same ‘frequency’ devoid of duplications.

“…. With the wisdom of the Legislature that recommended another Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) since we are a young SAI, we brought in a SAI to go through our system, and the report will be out for the public,” Auditor General Gaye told partners and other guests attending the launch of the new strategic plan on June 10, 2016 at the GAC.

The Auditor General, however, noted that one challenge that may be ‘far-fetch’ in the new strategic plan is a new home for the GAC, considering the fact that the Commission is currently being housed in the Old Executive Mansion.

She expressed heartfelt gratitude to the INTOSAI Development Initiatives, IDI, for providing funding, as well as getting the GAC through to the realization of the new Strategic Plan, which she described as practical and achievable.

Speaking earlier during the formal launch, the Manager of Strategic Planning and Operations, Mr. Emmanuel David, named Good infrastructure and working environment, performance measurement system, enhanced learning and professional staff development function and Enhanced Performance, among others as key capacities to be considered in the ‘operational roadmap’.

The ceremony was graced by the Commission’s partners to include the European Union, the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), Governance Commission, Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, as well as Integrity Institutions such as Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission and Internal Audit.-Press release