Monrovia, Liberia – The General Auditing Commission’s (GAC) audit of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) revealed certain findings that have been clarified by the CBL. Specifically, the findings state that former and seconded CBL staff members, such as Mr. James Wilfred, who was recently appointed by President Joseph N. Boakai as Acting Deputy Governor for Operations and seconded with WAMI in Accra, Ghana, had defaulted on their loan obligations with the Bank.
In a press release issued by the CBL on August 13, 2024, the Management stated that the Bank is fully aware of Mr. Wilfred, who has not been able to repay his loan to the CBL due to his secondment with WAMI. The release also noted that Mr. Wilfred possesses property collateral, severance benefits, and an adequate provident fund owned by the CBL.
According to the bank, the CBL records indicate that CBL is actually in debt to Mr. Wilfred after deducting his provident fund and severance payments from his US$90,000 (ninety thousand US dollars) loan due to the CBL.
The Bank further reaffirmed that other seconded and former staff reflected as defaulters in the GAC Report have provident funds and severance payments held by the Bank, which are adequate for recovery of the loans.
In the resolution of these issues, the new CBL Management has, therefore, commissioned a review to determine the loan status of former employees, on net, with the aim of informing the CBL Management’s decision about strategy to recover the loans.
As for the facility’s security, the Bank stressed that the loans given to employees who are on a temporary basis are adequately secured by provident funds, severance, and collateral.
The CBL Management assures the public that the Bank is committed to prudent financial practices with the aim of protecting the interests of all stakeholders.
The chief Bank of Liberia is the nation’s chief monetary authority, in charge of managing the nation’s foreign exchange reserves, creating and carrying out monetary policy, and policing and overseeing the financial sector.
The bank stateed that its three major goals are to: (1) support and uphold price stability; (2) contribute to financial stability; and (3), within the parameters of its mission, support the government’s economic strategy.
Reported by: Prince Saah
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