By Ethel A. Tweh
The Liberian Senate has endorsed its Public Account and Audit Committee’s recommendation mandating the General Auditing Commission (GAC) to ascertain facts through an audit of the bank balances reported by the former and current Presidents of the country.
During the transitional period in late January 2024, former President George Weah said his administration left over US$40 million in the consolidated account.
Contrary to ex-president Weah’s report, incumbent President Joseph Boakai in his first State of the Nation Address disclosed that the actual balance in the government’s consolidated account is US$20.5 million.
To establish the facts in the two separate assertions made by the two leaders, the Senate initially mandated its Joint Committees on Public Account and Audit and Banking and Currency with the PAC leading the venture to investigate the matter and report to the plenary.
However, on Tuesday, 6 February 2024, the Joint Committees following its investigation recommended that an audit be conducted by the General Auditing Commission to establish the real balances in the government’s account.
The report read in open plenary by the Secretary of the Senate Nanborlor Singbeh, stressed that the former and current leaders of Liberia failed to state whether the amounts reported were gross or net account balances.
According to the report, the audit by the GAC will clear the doubt about the true net inherited by President Boakai.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]
