LPP Gets on LEC’s Back -Demands Publishing Audited Finance Statements Since 2014

MONROVIA – Liberia’s arguably oldest political party, the Liberian People’s Party (LPP), is clearly picking up steams, increasing its alert and pressure on state institutions found wanting of public expectations and aspirations for greater transparency and accountability. The last time, the political-veterans-studded LPP unleashed a volley of inquiries on another state-owned enterprise, NASSCORP, over its financial deeds, if not misdeeds, particularly since 2014. As The Analyst reports, it seems the LPP, having apparently excavated or suspected fiscal filths, is taking the transparency “war” to the doorsteps of the Liberia Electricity Corporation which has been a key beneficiary of huge national and international largess.

The Liberian People’s Party (LPP) has tendered a strong letter to the Chief Executive Officer

Liberia Electricity Corporation, Monie R. Captan, requesting publish audited financial statements since 2014, grounding the questing in Section 1.1.12 of the 2010 Freedom of Information Act.

The November 4, 2024 letter signed by Chairman J. Yanqui Zaza, the LPP has requested the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) to publish LEC’s audited financial statements of 2015 to 2023 along with schedules of breakdown of the expenditure of the monies it received from Liberia’s development partners.

The LEC-partners’ loans referenced by the LPP include USD$314M loan from the International Development Association; USD$103M from the African Development Bank; LEC’s portion of the USD$257M from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC); Government of Liberia subsidies and LEC audited financial statements of 2015 to 2023.

The party justified its request to CEO Monie Captan, stating that the Corporation’s publication of its financial statements as prayed for is in accordance with Section 1.1.12 of the 2010 Freedom of Information Act, thereby, providing information on Government’s subsidies allocated in the National Budget covering years; 2017/2018 through 2022/2023 respectively.

According to the LPP, Liberians will fully understand the issue of “Power Theft” at LEC more when they review the Corporation’s financial statements and would help compare the sad story of Power Theft versus the rosy narratives reported by the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA).

“For the years 2015 through 2021,” the party said, quoting official website of the LEC under the management of the Millennium Challenge Account-Liberia, with Monie Captan as the Chief Executive Officer, made a number of feats, including improving reliability of electricity supply more than doubled the number of homes with electricity access; Mount Coffee enabling LEC to expand more reliable and affordable power supply to more than 82,000 homes, businesses, and other entities, compared to a little over 34,000, and the LEC becoming a viable public utility that achieved success in network reliability, availability of power-plants, collection efficiency, new customer connection, and improved customer service.

The LPP said the LEC financial statements it is demanding would explain the Agreements between LEC and the Interconnection Transmission Line running from Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea (TRANSCO CLSG) and thereby afford the public the opportunity to see why a Section of the Agreements stipulates “…that, in the event that TRANSCO CLSG’s revenues fall short of covering the project’s debt service obligations, the four governments, including Liberia, will be responsible for making up revenue shortfall”.

LPP said it knows that the LEC has some information on its financial transactions included in the National Budgetary documents and on its website, but the information omitted cash balances; amount of money customers owed LEC; amount of money LEC is indebted to suppliers; notes to the financial statements; etc.

In addition, LPP said it visited LEC website ‘www.lecliberia.com’ and read information on Gas Pipe Contractors, Utility Cost, Electricity Prices, Electricity Suppliers, Customer Service, not schedules and breakdowns of the USD $257M appropriated for the Corporation, and the management fees between MCA and the Government of Liberia.

Liberians might get information or clarity on issues if they read and compare financial statements of LEC prepared by previous and current managers, the part said.

“For instance, what factors affected profits/losses?” LPP quips. “Was it power theft, or other issues, including salaries, fees, etc.? Or what factors increased salary from USD $5M in 2018/19 to USD $9M in 2019/20 as detailed in the 2019/20 National Budget? Did LEC prepare a feasibility study before contracting the Ivorian electric power company to provide electricity to residents of four counties who make less than USD$5.00 per day?”

The party “heartily” thanked Captain “in advance for encouraging the LEC to publish schedules of expenditures of loans and its financial statements for public consumption”.