Unaccounted for US$2.8M Troubling -Finance Ministry Struggles to Defend Discrepancies

MONROVIA – Liberians went to the polls each electoral period, they do so amongst other things determined to bring an end to the perennial history of state-sponsored theft of the national coffers by state actors. Previous administrations that managed country’s resources stand accused of milking the national treasury at the alleged behest of the presidency, paid dearly at the polls which saw Liberians booting out supposedly to breathe fresh air from economic plunder. But it seems nothing is changing at all, even under the ruling Unity Party, as evidenced by the 2024 General Auditing Commission (GAC) report which has unearthed told fiscal filths at the Ministry of Finance, leaving Liberians bewildered once again. The Analyst reports.

A GAC Management Letter Management Letter on the Audit of GOL Consolidated Funds Account Financial Statements for the Financial Year January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 uncovered that the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), under Minister Augustine K. Ngafuan, is covering shady deals and improprieties.   

It must have been disappointment and shock to many Liberians who say they had least expected such financial calumny from the Boakai-led administration during its infancy.

The GAC, in its observation on the Audit of Government’s Consolidation Funds Account Financial Statement covering January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024, specifically noted in Section 1.1.5.6 of the Management Letter how during the audit, that the Ministry of Finance facilitated disbursement of expenditures amounting to US$2,806,470 which exceeded the approved appropriation in the National Budget for the Fiscal Year 2024.

Spending entities whose allotments reportedly exceeded their budgetary allocations included the Ministry of Public Works, the Liberia Airport Authority, the Liberia Revenue Authority, the Ministry of Labour, the National Food Assistance Agency, and the National Bureau of Concessions.

According to the GAC Report, the Ministry of Labour was allocated a legislative-approved budget of US$1,788,000.62 but instead received US$1,797,000.01, an excess of US$8,999.39, representing a 0.50% increase over the approved amount.

The Ministry of Public Works had a legislative ceiling of US$38,012,370.000 yet the Finance Ministry disbursed US$40,337,920.000, exceeding the approved allocation by US$2,325,550.000, or 6.12% above the approved budget.

The Liberia Airport Authority also received additional funding, with its approved allocation of US$2,665,080.000 rising to US$2,761,940.000, a difference of US$96,860.000, reflecting a 3.63% increase.

The National Bureau of Concessions received US$1,250,900.000 against a legislative approval of US$877,280.000, showing an overpayment of US$373,620.000, or 42.58% above the approved amount. The National Security Agency was allocated US$13,366,670.000 but received US$13,368,370.000, an overpayment of US$1,700.000, equivalent to a 0.01% variance.

The Liberia Revenue Authority received US$17,554,160.000, surpassing the budgeted US$17,526,000.000 by US$28,160.000, representing a 0.16% increase.

The National Food Assistance Agency was given US$128,400 compared to the approved US$124,370, a difference of US$4,030, or a 3.24% variance above the legislative allocation.

Terse Public Reactions Amid Official Government Response

In the wake of the stinging GAC audit report, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) has come out to specifically note that it is proud of making progress in financial management, budget discipline, and accountability under the Boakai administration.

“This is evidenced by a comparative analysis of the 2023 and recently released 2024 GAC Report of the GoL’s Consolidated Accounts. The Audit Report of 2024 describes the Audit Opinion as “Qualified” in contrast to a 2023 Audit Opinion that was Adverse.

“The shift from an ADVERSE to a QUALIFIED audit opinion reflects meaningful reform. Improvements were made in budget discipline, documentation and internal controls, cash and debt transparency, reconciliation, and financial reporting.

“Additionally, reconciliation efforts and IPSAS compliance have advanced significantly. According to the Reports, in 2023, financial statements were materially misstated and unreliable due to pervasive control failures.

“In 2024, all financial statements were fairly reported in all material respect. This is a reflection of the fact that most transactions were properly documented.

“Furthermore, the analysis revealed that in 2023, US$18.97M was recorded under the CBL Sundry Account without supporting schedules; while in 2024, transactions to CBL Sundry Account were fully disclosed with reconciled schedules.

“Meanwhile, the audit reports of the GAC Consolidated Account for 2023 and 2024 showed that in 2023, there was no disclosure of externally restricted cash balance, while in 2024, restricted balances were fully disclosed in financial statements.

“Another area of improvement in the management of the GoL Consolidated Account according to the 2024 GAC Audit Report is Bank Account Reconciliation. According to the report, in 2023, 473 bank accounts and 37 transitory accounts were not reconciled, while in 2024, 95% were reconciled, with 5 per cent flagged for closure.

“Contrary to some opinion in the public domain, the audit reports did not state that any money was missing or misappropriated at the MFDP. All payments were done with proper documentation,” the MFDP stated in its response, saying, “let it be noted that excess expenditure over appropriation does not necessarily imply wrongdoing. Situations often arise where urgent or unforeseen expenditures must be addressed, such as by-elections, and other emergencies”.

But critics of this administration refuse to be taken for a ride, and they are fuming over the MFDP response and others from defenders of the regime.

“The law is clear and we should stop finding cheap solace in scapegoating. Section 24 of the Public Financial Management Act prohibits spending beyond approved appropriations without legislative approval. The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning provided no evidence of such approval. The Auditor General therefore concluded that MFDP acted in wanton breach of financial discipline and the PFM Law. No amount of public relations will ever nail in the coffin the troubling GAC’s findings,” says Public Policy wonk Julius T. Jaesen in a stinging critique of the MDPF’s subsequent response to the GAC audit report.

“The Ministry mentioned a change in audit opinion from adverse to qualified as proof of progress. But a ‘qualified’ opinion is not a badge of honour. It is still a statement that the financial statements are materially misstated in specific areas and that laws were broken. The Auditor General went further to point out that these breaches compromise fair presentation and impair accountability. So, the Ministry’s unsuccessful botched attempt made in an ill-constructed press release to dress this up as progress is totally misleading and maliciously conjectured.

“We must stop this embellishment of the truth. The issue is not whether 2024 looked marginally better than 2023, but whether the Ministry obeyed the law in its stewardship of public funds. On that front, the audit shows repeated violations.

“The Ministry points to better reconciliation of bank accounts in 2024 compared to 2023. That may be true, but reconciliation of accounts is a routine duty under Section 36 of the PFM Act. It is not an achievement to applaud; it is the minimum requirement. Moreover, the audit found 95 percent of bank accounts reconciled, leaving 5 percent flagged for closure which is still a material weakness. This selective reference to progress sidesteps the core problem that shows how MFDP continues to sanction excess and unauthorised disbursements without legislative approval.

“The Ministry insists in its press release that no money is missing or misappropriated. But the audit revealed USD 2.85 million in payments without supporting documents. Regulation P.9(2) of the PFM Act requires that all payments be backed by invoices, receipts, and delivery notes. The absence of these documents means the legality and authenticity of the payments cannot be established. This is woefully troubling. The Ministry’s excuse of an overwhelmed archive system does not change the fact that it failed miserably to provide evidence, even after being asked by auditors.

“The MFDP, in its press release, suggests that excess expenditures do not imply wrongdoing, citing budget transfer provisions. But the law is precise and it says interagency transfers cannot exceed two percent without legislative approval, and reallocations above 20 percent must also receive legislative consent. Shamefully troubling, the audit shows MFDP disbursed funds beyond these limits with no evidence of legislative approval, particularly in the case of the Bureau of National Concessions. The Auditor General concluded that management assertions “did not adequately address the issues raised.” Hence, the MFDP’s press release collapses against the letter of the law.

“The Ministry, in its press release, says urgent expenditures during legislative recess make it hard to secure prior approval. This is precisely why the Constitution and the PFM Act provide for supplementary budgets and contingency reserves. Circumventing these safeguards is not allowed. To argue that urgency justifies breaches is to willfully normalise illegality and this is exactly what the MFDP did. What the audit exposes is not a quick response to emergencies, but deliberate disbursement of public funds by MFDP outside the law.

“The Ministry concludes that the 2024 audit opinion confirms that most transactions were properly documented. But the same audit details misclassification of transactions, discrepancies of more than USD 11 million between the Ministry of Health’s reported expenditures and those in the consolidated fund, and mismatches in debt reporting between the Debt Management Unit and the consolidated financial statements. These are not minor technicalities; they are systemic weaknesses that compromise fiscal credibility.

“Most striking is the under-disbursement of USD 78.2 million from the allocations approved by the Legislature to over 100 institutions. The National Legislature itself was denied USD 4.1 million of its lawful budget. The Ministry of Justice lost USD 5.9 million, weakening the rule of law. The National Elections Commission was short-changed by USD 309,000, despite being central to Liberia’s democracy. The University of Liberia was denied USD 2.6 million, while public hospitals and health agencies, including the Ministry of Health, John F. Kennedy Medical Centre, and the National Public Health Institute, all lost more than USD 12.9 million combined. These cuts cripple services that touch the lives of ordinary Liberians. By doing so, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning positioned itself as being inadvertently responsible for the deaths of Liberians who were rejected by JFK and other government hospitals because of insufficient beds or drugs.

“To withhold such sums while overspending elsewhere is not only a breach of law, it is a betrayal of public trust. The MFDP must take responsibility and stop finding low-hanging fruit by shamefully going back to 2023 under the CDC administration to share or apportion failures!

“What the Ministry has attempted in its press release is to use 2023 as a scapegoat to avoid answering for 2024. But the GAC report is unambiguous, stating that the MFDP authorized disbursements outside the budget, failed to provide documents for millions of dollars, misclassified salaries as grants, and withheld funds totaling USD 78.2 million from more than 100 government institutions without lawful justification. These are not signs of reform, my people. They are breaches of law and the trust of the thousands of poor Liberians who voted for change.

“The Auditor General’s position is unambiguous and emphatic showing that Liberia’s fiscal governance is undermined when the Finance Ministry disregards the Constitution, the national budget, and the PFM Act. What the country needs is not spin but accountability. The Ministry should admit to these blatant violations, correct them, and hold those responsible to account. Anything less deepens or emboldens the culture of impunity that has long strangled Liberia’s development,” Mr. Jaesen said.

For his part Saye-Maye Cole, a long-standing executive staff of the Ministry of Finance, disagrees with the assertion that the current administration says it cannot lay hands of financial documents detailing the unaccounted US$2.8 due to archiving bureaucracies.

“Archiving has never been an issue at the MFDP. It won’t take you 10 minutes to get documents from 2015 in the Minister’s office and deputies’ offices. Maybe I need to do a detailed write up on the processes of receiving and storing documents at the MFDP. I think it’s going to be a useful exercise for the public,” Mr. Cole stated in a terse social media post yesterday.