By Grace Q. Bryant
Members of the House of Representatives have endorsed the report of the Specialized Committee setup by House Speaker Fonati Koffa to investigate alleged alteration of the approved Fiscal Year (FY2024) budget.
But many was left pondering over the House’s decision to endorse the report which confirmed the alteration of the budget without identifying the culprit(s), and ensuring that he/she face prosecution.
It can be recalled that the Specialized Committee was set-up by House Speaker Fonati Koffa after Representative Clarence Garh and Senator Amara Konneh raised concerns about the alleged alteration of the approved 2024 budget and the allocations therein.
Garh and Konneh also mentioned several key budget items that were allegedly altered without proper authorization, leading to discrepancies in the allocation of funds, thereby raising concerns about transparency and accountability of the Country’s financial management.
In addition to the ensuring that the root cause of the allegation was brought to light, the Speaker put on hold, the Recast Budget submitted by the Executive till the outcome of the investigation despite its urgency.
But surprisingly to some Representatives including onlookers, the House opted not to take immediate action against those implicated but instead, went on to endorse the committee’s report following a motion from Representative Josiah Marvin Cole.
Also, despite the findings, no penalties or disciplinary actions were recommended or taken against those found culpable, thus leaving the saga unresolved and bringing into question whether the Honorable House of Representatives is serious about its fight against corruption.
However, the committee’s investigative report revealed that the motion passed by the plenary to have budget performance reports submitted to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had been altered, as the reports were also redirected to the Legislative Budget Office (LBO) without plenary approval.
The committee’s report further detailed several key findings, including the Ministry of Finance admission to realigning and reclassifying sectorial appropriations, as these changes were made without proper legislative approval.
The committee however recommended that the Chief Clerk’s Office revise its procedures for transmitting laws to the Executive to prevent the reoccurrence of similar issues in the future.
In addition to the oversight changes, the committee found that the budget document was improperly recalled from the Executive by the Deputy Chief Clerk on May 7, 2024, following a request from the Senate’s Secretary.
This recall was deemed “unorthodox” and not in accordance with legislative procedures. The original budget document was subsequently lost, with only a copy available for review.
Meanwhile, notably absent from the deliberations was the Chairman of the Specialized Committee, Rep. Robert Wongbe and Speaker Koffa, who had earlier put the budget review on hold pending the investigation.
Some lawmakers including Rep. James Kolleh, weighing on the matter during yesterday’s deliberations said, “The report confirms the budget was altered without proper authorization, yet the matter of who is responsible remains open.”
Also, Rep. Thomas Goshua of Grand Bassa County District 5, lamented, “The public will feel every one of us here in this House is corrupt; why can’t we know who altered the budget? With this, I think this issue is not resolved and will hunt us all tomorrow.”
