Liberian News: ‘ALL HAVE SINNED’

Monrovia–It is likened to an “all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory” situation in the case of a General Auditing Commission (GAC) audit report that has revealed wide payroll incongruities at the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs (MOS).

The audit which cites gross financial mismanagement, duplicitous recruitment practices, and breaches of the country’s public financial laws between tied both former and current administrations of the Liberian government.

It covered the period between July 1, 2018, and March 31, 2024 –representing the time of the former administration and that of the current administration.

Given the severity of the breach of regulatory guidelines and frameworks, GAC implored the National Legislature (Senate and House of Representatives) to take immediate action against those found culpable of not adhering to standards.

The GAC wants the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives and the Pro-Tempore and Members of the Liberia Senate to consider the implementation of the recommendations in the report with urgency, given the implication of the matters raised in this report.

The audit findings span the administrations of former Ministers of State Nathaniel F. McGill (January 2018–August 2021), G. Wesseh Blamo (August 2021–January 2024), and current Minister Sylvester M. Grigsby (appointed January 2024).

Focused on compliance and other regulatory procedures at the MOS, it singled out the supplementary payroll system as noncompliant “in all material respects” with the Revenue Code of 2011, Public Financial Management Act of 2009, and several other legal frameworks.

The GAC in the audit discovered how MOS worn out US$3,506,271.00 in excess of its approved budget for supplementary personnel” over the six-year period.

From July 2018 to March 2024, according to audit, payroll records were incomplete, inaccurate, and inadequately documented, with salary payments totaling US$7,933,573.01 and $964,766.21 unsupported by any payroll journals, debit instructions, or bank statements.

The GAC audit noted a serious payroll discrepancy in September 2020, a period of the former administration, stating that 58 individuals were paid, although they did not appear on the official personnel list, and 129 individuals listed as employees did not appear on the payroll.

Moreover, in early 2024, under this current administration, the GAC audit said its discovered that severance payments for 647 laid-off employees were calculated using what it termed “unauthorized two-week formula”, something which is in violation of Chapter 14.5 of the Decent Work Act of 2015, which requires four weeks of severance pay for each completed year of service.

On top of that, GAC reported that 74 employees, whose legitimacy could not be authenticated, were owed US$76,440 in unpaid benefits, though there was no evidence that their checks were voided or funds retained.

Under the Weah regime, GAC also noted that the Ministry failedto maintain staff attendance records, undermining payroll verification processes and opening the system to abuse from July 2018 to December 2023.

It said: “Daily attendance records from the periods July 2018 to December 2023 were not made available for our verification.”

Besides the serious compliance issues both present and past administrations are tied to, there is the issue of tax compliance failures wherein MOS did not remit personal income taxes deducted from employees’ salaries, as required under Section 905 of the Revenue Code of Liberia (2011 amendment).

The Audit found out that “Management did not remit into GoLRevenue Account, Personal Income Tax (PIT) withheld from supplementary staff for the fiscal periods under audit.”

According to the GAC audit, there is no evidence that employer or employee contributions were paid to the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) at any time from 2018 to 2024. Such is considered as complete contravention of the 2017 NASSCORP Act that mandates a 10% contribution of gross salaries.

Also, the Ministry failed to follow any competitive recruitment procedures in hiring 739 supplementary staff, stating “We observed no evidence of written request to the Director‐General of the CSA… prior to the hiring.”

“Many of these individuals were employed based on written or oral request from senior Management, and in many cases, lacked application letters, appointment letters, or even credentials.”

GAC said records it reviewed during the audit showed that out of 551 employee files examined, 547 did not have appointment letters, 542 did not apply, and 200 did not have credentials attached, while 188 out of the 739 employees did not have personnel file.

GAC said the internal control framework at the Ministry was faulty, noting “There is no approved Human Resource Policy and Procedures to guide the human resource activities at the entity.”

The auditing body stated that payroll was processed using Microsoft Excel rather than a secured automated system, and there was no clear segregation of duties between the HR and Finance departments during payroll processing.

“Several employees in similar roles and departments were being paid drastically different salaries, a violation of the GOL harmonized salary structure,” the audit found out. 

Also, “Salaries were not within the salary structure/pay grade for several positions.”

According to the GAC, management’s assertion was not supported by documentary evidence, in spite of commitments to address some of the issues including introducing a salary structure and adopting HR policies.

New Republic Liberia

Alphonso Toweh

Has been in the profession for over twenty years. He has worked for many international media outlets  including: West Africa Magazine, Africa Week Magazine, African Observer and  did occasional reporting for CNN, BBC World Service, Sunday Times, NPR, Radio Deutchewells, Radio Netherlands. He is the current correspondent for Reuters 
 He holds first  MA with honors in International  Relations and a  candidate for second master in International Peace studies and Conflict  Resolution from the University of Liberia.