Liberia: General Auditing Commission Rejects Central Bank’s Supporting Documents During Auditing Process
Auditor General Jackson defended the GAC’s actions, blaming the CBL for the delay in submitting the documents.
Monrovia – A series of email exchanges between top officials of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) and the General Auditing Commission (GAC) revealed that the GAC rejected a dossier of documents it had requested from the CBL.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh, gerald.koinyeneh@frontpageafricaonline.com
The documents were submitted by the CBL as requested by the GAC to review. They were additional sources to support the CBL response to the GAC’s audit queries. The process began with a request from the GAC for additional documents to review the CBL’s response to an audit it had conducted.
FrontPage gathered that on Thursday, July 18, 2024, the CBL delivered the requested documents to the GAC. The documents were received by Ms. Daniella Berrian, a staff member of the GAC involved in the CBL engagement, who began verifying the documents against the accompanying list.
However, about 30 minutes into the process, the Audit Lead, Mr. Abraham T. Cooper, walked in and halted the verification. Mr. Cooper reportedly instructed that the documents be returned to the CBL, stating that he was under instruction not to receive them and that the bank should present them to the Legislature when summoned.
In a communication to Auditor General P. Garsua Jackson, CBL Executive Governor J. Aloysius Tarlue said the GAC’s action was contrary to what had been agreed upon in email exchanges between Deputy Governor Pearson and Deputy Auditor General Winsley S. Nanka on July 16, 2024. Tarlue stated that it would have been courteous for the GAC to formally inform the bank of its decision not to accept the documents.
Tarlue called on AG Jackson for redress and expressed the CBL’s willingness to cooperate for a successful conclusion of the audit process.
In response, Auditor General Jackson defended the GAC’s actions, blaming the CBL for the delay in submitting the documents. Jackson did not specify why the GAC halted the review of the documents but mentioned that the Auditor General’s final report would be issued to the National Legislature through the Joint Public Accounts, Audit, and Expenditure Committee (PAC). He noted that the PAC is expected to schedule a public hearing at which time the CBL may be asked to present the documents to support its response to the audit report.
The email exchanges revealed that on July 16, the CBL, through its Deputy Director General, informed the GAC that the documents were available but requested that a CBL representative be present during the GAC’s review due to their sensitive nature. A follow-up was made on July 17 by the CBL, and the documents were submitted to the GAC on July 18.
In interviews with inside sources at the GAC, they confided to FrontPage that there was no need to reject the CBL documents, as they were crucial for arriving at the audit findings and recommendations. Audit experts questioned why the GAC would reject the documents when they were readily available. They termed the GAC action as biased and tantamount to a witch hunt. The GAC did not respond to FPA’s inquiry up to time of Publication.
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