The Liberia Revenue Authority has refuted media reports that no million dollars or money of “transitory” went missing at the Central Bank of Liberia as it is being insinuated in the public domain.
Addressing a news conference on Tuesday, November 17 in Monrovia, Thomas Doe-Nah, the Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority, stated among many things that no money went missing.
He stated that because of the professionalism and hard work of the employees at the Authority, revenue collections have grown and improved over the years.
Doe-Nah stated that in spite of the effort made, there are some people in the Liberian society mainly in the media who are bent on trying to ferment confusion by writing falsehoods tarnishing the reputations of others.
Making specific reference to the publications in the Monday and Tuesday’s editions of this week in the Front Page Africa (FPA), the LRA’s boss said those reports were “dotted or altered” allegedly by the paper.
He said while at home on Sunday he received a message through his messenger from Lennart Dodo of Front Page Africa concerning an internal memo which he claimed speaks to a transitory of about US$14 million going missing at the Central Bank of Liberia.
“Front Page Africa touched the wrong person. Once they cannot find anything on you, they will either dot or fabricate stories to suit their own beliefs instead of reporting the facts or truth of the matter,” Doe-Nah stated emotionally.
He indicated that there is no way can internal auditor(s) conduct audit on the Central Bank of Liberia and if that is the case, then what will be the work of the General Auditing Commission (GAC)? But regrettably, GAC does not audit the CBL.
“The media which is supposed to be the brain and heartbeat of the country is regrettably there trying to put people’s lives at risk because in Liberia nowadays, when one dies people cry of foul play and perhaps that might be the case,” the chief revenue collector noted.
He said LRA internal auditors are there to increase revenue collections but instead, Front Page Africa chose to write “foolishness” when they were cited on Monday at 1:pm but failed to showed up claiming that LRA wants to cover up.
“Cover up what?, he asked. People with small mind think evil. I, serving my country is the best thing to do and I owe nobody an apology for that. The same money that is been collected is the same money that is been used to build schools, hospitals and pay public servants,” he stated.
Doe-Nah then disclosed how LRA has exceeded or improved its revenue collection during the course of the year in spite of the COVID19. However, FPA is making the LRA more popular and stronger to work harder.
Doe-Nah noted that in the month of July US$1.6 million was collected, August US$14.8 million, September US$3 million plus, October US$10.2 million among others cumulating to over US$307.6 million which is a good sign of revenue collection for the country.
Following more than 1 hour oral presentation, the LRA boss than drilled journalists through power point for them to know the differences between the “dotted or altered” internal memo of Front Page Africa (FPA) and that of the LRA’s own, which it said is the real one in terms of contents, composition or language of every profession.