One of Liberia’s oldest political parties, the Liberian People’s Party (LPP), has called on the current chairman of the Unity Party, who is also chairman of the Board of Directors of the Liberia National Port Authority, “to fulfill the requirements of the International Financial Reporting Standards and Liberia Freedom of Information enacted in 2010 and publish all audited financial statements of NPA since 2014”.
The LPP serving amongst other panelists on TV/Radio Talk Show institutions and representatives said it needed the documents to discuss Anti-Corruption principles germane to the operations of the port, fondly called “the Gateway to the Country’s Economy”.
A press release syndicated contained what the LPP called 2022 and 2023 limited financial statements included within the 2024 national budget of Liberia, adding: “It doesn’t have information on cash balance, number of vessels that visited the Port. It doesn’t give information about efficiency, ratio of debts to assets, rate of return of investment, outstanding debts, number of employees, board of directors’ compensation, etc.”
According to the LPP, one of the most anti-corruption measures is the preparation and presentation of financial statements according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
“NPA failed to follow, prepare, and present financial statements according to IFRS,” the party said.
Amongst other revelations, the party alleged that APM raised the tariff upward by 7.032%, according to Mr. Friedman of Princeton university and that Government gave APM the exclusive rights to increase tariffs and reduce free storage period at the beginning of every year, according to Mr. Friedman of Princeton university
“In 2019, APM increased the fees for 20ft container from US$156.62 to US$165,” the LPP said. “APM changed the free time 10 days to 5 days, meaning customer brokers have 5 days, and not 10 days to clear their goods. APM is entitled or can take the goods, even if the delay is due to bureaucratic issues, according to Mr. Friedman of Princeton university.”
Continuing, the party revealed: “APM has increased storage fees, according to brokers who went on strikes to demand action from government. Mr. Emmanuel Gonquoi, head of the Economic Freedom Fighter of Liberia, stated that APM has deprived Liberians from owning and operating Stevedorings.”
Reviewing the current financial statements including within the 2023 National Budget, although very limited, to get some ideas, the party said Mr. Jonathan Friedman of Princeton University stated in the 2012 reports that the NPA “was a significant source of revenue for Liberia’s government. The writer of the reports stated that the function of the Port was turned over to APM, or privatized by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf”.
The LPP charged that government is losing money by having two different management teams and paying two different salaries or compensation to the two management teams.
“Now, let’s visit the financial statements included in the National Budget,” the party emphasized. “The word used to identify the revenue on the NPA income/expense report is called ‘Concession fees,’ meaning NPA didn’t perform services such as loading and/or unloading. However, NPA which has limited functions reported US$13M for employees, which is higher than the concession fees of US$12M.”
The APM is the operating entity (leasee) and NPA is the investor (landlord), therefore APM should deduct all expenses, including wages associated or related to operations, said the party.
“We included the financial statements of the Ports of Ghana and Sierra Leone for comparative review. For example, in one of the companies’ reports, the concession revenue was 50% of the total revenue reported by the Operating company,” the party claimed.
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