The General Auditing Commission or GAC holds a one-day forum with the Media to enhance relationship with media institutions here. The program, with theme, “enhancing GAC-Media Relations” was held Thursday at a local hotel in Monrovia in partnership with the European Union.
Liberia’s Auditor General Yusador S. Gaye says the media has a major role in disseminating information from the GAC to the public, stressing a need for collaboration to help make Liberia a better place.
She notes that the public will not get to know works of the GAC without the help of the media. However, she discloses the GAC worked with six other auditing agencies from different countries on the Sustainable Development Goals, noting that her institution was the first to finish its report.
AG Gaye explains that whenever an audit is done, the report is accompanied by recommendations to enable Auditees know what next to do.However, she notes that from most audit reports in Liberia, recommendations are not adhered to. Therefore, she urges the media to be proactive by accurately and timely reporting published audit reports in depth.
Mr. Martin Sandy, Information, Education and communication Officer from the Audit Service of the Republic of Sierra Leone, who served as lead facilitator, underscores an audit process will never be completed without dissemination of the audit findings to the public, adding that the media is the liaison between the citizens and the GAC.
He says the media should help in making the recommendation to be implemented as well as help the GAC to identify potential areas for auditing.
He cautions whenever an audit report is out by the GAC, the media should not assume, politicize, exaggerate, generalize, or take sides, but report directly from the audit report.
For his part, the Deputy Auditor General of Liberia Foday G. Kiazolu says the role of the GAC is to help legislators to monitor and control public resources, reviews government activities for regularity and compliance, examine transaction against circulation of inputs, outcomes and impacts.
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However, he says the GAC lacks required funding to carry on all of their audits, recalling that the Commission’s budget was cut down, so they will carry out the major ones. In the same vein, he adds the GAC too can be audited, disclosing the last audit done on the GAC was by foreign audit agency from Kenya.
The Long-term Technical Advisor to the EU’s 11th EDF support to the GAC, Ron Mwamba from Zambia, says they are working with the media to bring transparency to the Liberian people.
A former Auditing General of Zambia, Mr. Mwamba stresses the way the media reports the GAC report, citizens will be aware of happenings in various government entities and agencies.
By Ethel A. Tweh-Editing by Jonathan Browne
