The Civil Society Network of Liberia (CSNL) says the nomination of P. Garswa Jackson, Sr. as Auditor General of Liberia is welcoming.
Commending President George Manneh Weah for his preferment, CSNL described
Mr. Jackson as an experienced senior public financial management professional with extensive experience in internal and external auditing both in the public and private sectors.
According to the civil society network, Garswa comes to the Auditor General position at the General Auditing Commission, when confirmed, with relevant qualifications, high degree of competence and several years of experience within the financial sector of Liberia.
The group believes that with the many calls for robustness from anti-graft institutions under the CDC-led Government in the fight against corruption, Mr. Jackson is best suited to lead the Commission.
Outlining the nominee’s credentials among other things, the Civil Society Network of Liberia said he is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) of the United Kingdom; member of the Liberian Institute of Certified Public Accountant (LICPA); Member of the International Institute of Certified Forensic Investigation Professional, USA (IICFIP), member of the Institute of Financial Consultant, Canada (IFC) and a holder of BSc in Economics from the AME University.
“Based on his high level of professional education, Mr. Jackson has served in different financial positions with distinctive achievements. As a progressive and well knowledgeable financial expert, Mr. P. Garswa Jackson currently serves as the Vice President for Finance & Fiscal Affairs of the University of Liberia. Prior to becoming a Vice President, Mr. Jackson also served as Comptroller & Chief Internal Auditor of the University of Liberia,” the group reiterated.
Before joining the UL, Mr. Jackson, Sr. practiced with the prestigious KPMG (One of the world’s Big Four Auditing Firms) in Ghana as a Financial Statement Auditor for many years.
The Civil Society Network of Liberia is of the strongest optimism that the laudable achievements of Mr. Jackson at the University of Liberia, where he spent most of his working years in the financial sector are so convincing that as Auditor General, he will enhance key collaborations with Anti- graft and other institutions to enforce compliance to systems and national laws and regulations, improve audit efficiency and effectiveness through the introduction of automated audit software, and build human capacity and performance at the GAC.
The group recalled that when he served as Comptroller of the University, Mr. Jackson facilitated an immediate significant increase in the government’s subsidy to the University from U$9.9 million in Fiscal Year 2014/2015 to US$15.1 million in Fiscal Year 2015/2016.
For the current Fiscal Year 2020/2021, the Government of Liberia Subsidy to the University amounts to US$16.3 million dollars and that in his current role as Vice president for Finance & Fiscal Affairs, he has ensured that the University of Liberia’s financial status recovers from significant debt.
The Civil Society Network of Liberia is therefore calling on the Liberian Senate to unconditionally confirm Garswa as Auditor General of the General Auditing Commission with the conviction that he will demonstrated professional and technical understanding and ability to ensure that the Commission robustly fights all forms of corruption within the public sector.