CSA’s Joekai In ‘Fire Fight’ With Public Scoundrels -Catches Scores, Submits Dozens to LACC, MoJ for Fraud

MONROVIA: Third world development experts are of the view that corruption and graft are the cancer—or public enemy number one—that dwarfs national transformation strides however well-intention. The experts particularly identify payroll frauds and procurements as the most virulent of all grafts and corruption in Government, and the cabals of perpetrators, having their bastion in the Human Resource and Procurement Departments of institutions, are extremely shrewd and cunning in the way they outmaneuver and evade detection, as they sustain, maintain and wield their daggers in the heart of institutional coffers, leaving bleedings and leakages to their advantage. But it seems they now do have a match in the current Director-General at the Civil Service Agency who has, since his incumbency, been in a ceaseless fire fight with the fraudsters, not only uncovering and exposing them, but also availing them to law enforcement agencies. The Analyst reports.

In a rather militant and uncompromising way, the Director General of the Civil Service Agency (CSA) has been dismantling the citadels of Liberia’s longtime enemy, corruption, which blossomed and is seated in the civil service ecosystem of the country.

DG Josiah Joekai, Jr. has been in what some observers said is a unrelenting fire fight with payroll and administration fraudsters who have, for long time, kept their corruption pipe in the cash heart of Government, sucking it to dry.

Five months of intense surveillance and investigation by the CSA and its partners has significantly disrupted the network of personnel and payroll swindlers, chasing dozens out and torpedoing scores before law enforcement agencies.

It can be recalled that in June 2024, the Civil Service Agency presented the first sets of progressive reports on the ongoing Employee Status Regularization Project (ESRP), covering three Government Spending Entities: the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Liberia Public Administration (LIPA), and the National Center for the Coordination Mechanism (NCCRM).

The reports at the time unveiled significant misuse and abuse of government resources through illegal salary payments to ghost employees, double dippers, and duplicate accounts.

In a progressive way, the Civil Service Agency is going from spending entity to another in search of those involved with irregularities.

Briefing the President of Liberia and the general public Thursday, July 4, 2024 the regular MICAT Press Briefing on findings of the CSA on its activities since January 2024, Joekai zeroed on three main spending agencies, beginning with the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

According to him, 40 employees were dismissed for absenteeism of 14-20 days over three months, 81 employees were suspended without pay for 8-12 consecutive days of absence, and 10 employees were issued warnings for 5-7 straight days of absence.

He also reported on the Liberia Institute of Public Administration (LIPA), where he said 28 employees were dismissed for absenteeism of 14-20 days over three months, 30 employees were suspended without pay for 8-12 consecutive days of absence, and 3 employees were issued warnings for 5-7 consecutive days of absence.

The third is the National Center for the Coordination of Response Mechanism (NCCRM). The CSA DG reported that his institution’s probe found no evidence of employment for 12 individuals who received illegal payments totaling US$25,708.00 from October to December 2023.

The CSA, he said, has already requested the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) to investigate the former Executive Director and Financial Comptroller regarding these illegal payments and advise the CSA on appropriate actions.

“We understand from the LACC that the investigation is expanding as more individuals are being questioned,” Joekai stressed. “While we appreciate the diligent work of the LACC, we strongly encourage them to bring this matter to a logical and legal conclusion to prevent future occurrences of such financial malpractice.”

The CSA boss called on the Human Resource Directors and Financial Comptrollers of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Liberia Institute for Public Administration, and the National Center for the Coordination of Response Mechanism to report to the Solicitor General’s office at the Ministry of Justice for investigation into their alleged roles in these grave matters.

He said the CSA and the Ministry of Justice are collaborating to ensure that these human resource and financial mismanagement investigations are conducted expeditiously.

As a direct result of these actions taken by the CSA at the three Spending Entities, Mr. Joekai reported that the government would realize annual savings of US$488,816.82.

“Today, I am pleased to report that the CSA has completed employee physical verification and headcounts at the central offices of 29 Government Spending Entities,” he said.

“Of these, the CSA has blocked unverified employees from 14 Spending Entities, resulting in government savings of US$490,828.74.”

As part of its ongoing implementation of the General Auditing Commission’s 2021 Payroll Compliance Audit recommendations, CSA has blocked 689 individuals on the payroll with duplicate National Identification Numbers from 49 Spending Entities.

This strategic action followed Employee Physical Verification and Headcount System detecting 54 names with duplicated National Identification Numbers from 4 Spending Entities.

Of the 689, he said, only 2 individuals showed up for verification, indicating that the remaining 687 are potential ghost employees.

“Consequently, the government will save US$223,413.84 monthly and US$2.6 million annually,” he reported.

He assured his boss, President Boakai, that the CSA has been collaborating with the General Auditing Commission and the Internal Audit Agency in the campaign to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse from our institutions.

“I have observed that over 300 audit reports spanning nearly two decades have not been acted upon to hold perpetrators accountable,” he told the President. “I propose, Your Excellency, that your office engage with the House of Representatives to prompt the House’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts to hold hearings on these reports for expeditious prosecutions.

“Without this, our current reform efforts will be insufficient, and corruption will continue to impede our national recovery and development process.”