By Bill W. Cooper
An audit conducted on the financial statements of the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) for the implementation of the Liberia Road Asset Management Project (LIBRAMP) financed by a World Bank loan, has revealed significant financial and operational irregularities.
The audit, conducted by the General Auditing Commission (GAC) was specifically on the roads works done from the ELWA-Ganta 153 km roads.
The disclosure was made yesterday, July 17, 2024, at the ongoing public hearings taking place in the Joint Chambers of the Liberian Legislature, focusing on the Auditor General’s Report on various government Ministries and Agencies.
The audit report which uncovered multiple financial and operational discrepancies for the period from July 1, 2021, to December 31, 2022, also raised serious concerns about fiscal management, transparency, and accountability within the project.
According to the audit report on Withholding Taxes, the Infrastructure Implementation Unit failed to deduct and remit withholding taxes amounting to US$110,138.28, during the period under review.
While contractors Chico and CICO similarly did not deduct and remit taxes and duties totaling US$1,512,601.66 including Vendors’ withholding taxes amounting to US$47,950.88 were also not deducted and remitted.
The report also revealed that unpaid claims totaling US$6,152,245.88 and L$35,280,459.86 for routine maintenance services provided by CICO and CHICO were not disclosed in the notes to the financial statements while a discrepancy of US$31,918 was observed between the Interim Financial Report and the Financial Statement for cumulative balances.
On the documentation issues, financial statements signed by the PFMU Manager and the Project Coordinator lacked specific dates of preparation and signing, contrary to the cash basis requirements adopted by the Liberian Government.
While payments of US$1,462,559.24 for goods and services were made without adequate supporting documents, questioning the authenticity of these transactions, and goods purchased at US$18,093.80 lacked supporting documents such as quotation and bid evaluation reports.
On operational inefficiencies, petty cash float replenishment was delayed and initiated when the cash balance rose above 90 percent instead of the required 50 percent, while NASSCORP deductions for staff were not made and remitted and two deeds for land bought by the contractors were not available for inspection during the audit.
On Infrastructure and Maintenance concerns, the Project Manager’s office and camp in Weala, Margibi County, and Palala, Bong County, were found to be poorly maintained and abandoned, while fixed assets were not properly coded, and the fixed assets register was incomplete, and there was no evidence of periodic physical verification of assets or movement of assets within the project’s vicinity.
Meanwhile, on the government’s Financial Obligations, the World Bank reduced the Government’s counterpart contribution for road maintenance from US$47.8 million to US$35 million, with the audit revealing no evidence that the government has made contributions towards road maintenance as stated in the contract/agreement.
This failure further led to the Infrastructure Implementation Unit issuing a suspension order effective October 1, 2022, due to the government’s failure to meet its obligations, while findings from the audio’s report highlight significant lapses in financial management and operational oversight within the Public Works Ministry Liberia Road Assets Project.
