Monrovia, Liberia – The CSA chief stated that the General Auditing Commission’s request to conduct a forensic investigation into payroll compliance for each of the 103 spending entities is a critical step.
The goal of this audit, which ran from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023, is to give important information on the degree of financial irregularities and mismanagement in the system.
“The government is dedicated to providing the resources required to enable the CSA and GAC to carry out this audit with efficiency and fully supports this important national initiative.”
Speaking Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at the weekly press briefing of the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism in Monrovia, the CSA Director General forewarns legislators to pledge their steadfast support for conducting payroll audits of their respective Central Administrations.
Their cooperation is crucial to making sure these reforms are successful because they have a stake in resolving the financial and human resource management scandals that have dogged the civil service.
The head of CSA claimed that the previous administration paid for advisory services alone US$ 6.1 million in the most recent fiscal year. Mr. Joekai claimed that this absurdly high cost is not indicative of the caliber of the work or advice given. Using the CSA as a case study, He noted that they looked through the files of the eighteen consultants who were chosen, hired, and paid, and discovered the following:
Nine months into the alleged annual engagement, none of the eighteen consultants had a contract; eight of them did not have a legitimate contract in their folders adding to the situation. There were only twelve consultants that took part in the headcount.
Despite receiving cash, the remaining six have not shown up to date and remain unaccounted for. Simply put, they are ghosts, and there are no timesheets, performance evaluation reports, reports for services rendered, or Terms of Reference (ToR) associated with them.
The inequalities’ disclosure highlights the urgent need for extensive reforms to address these glaring differences and stop future abuse of public funds. Such reforms are necessary to guarantee accountability and openness while restoring the effectiveness, responsiveness, and integrity of our civil service, the CSA Boss added.
“We have painstakingly created extensive policy guidelines to revolutionize the hiring, managing, and selection of consultants and consulting companies throughout the government as a crucial component of CSA’s continuous reform initiatives.”
“We are confident that the government will achieve significant cost savings and optimize the value derived from sanitizing the payroll and consultancy engagements with the implementation of strategic reform measures in the short term. This will ultimately ensure that taxpayer funds are used wisely and effectively.”
Reported by: Joseph N Kerkula
Email: jnkerkula@gmail.com
Contact: +231777376826
