The Chairperson of the Joint Public Accounts Audit and Expenditure Committee (PAC), Margibi County District 5 Representative Clarence H. Gahr is calling on President Joe Boakai to refrain from acting on audit reports until the joint committee conducts hearings and submits the reports to him for action.
Gahr made this call on Monday in the Joint Chamber of the Legislature during his opening statement at the Public Account Audit and Expenditure hearing ongoing at the Capitol Building.
He quoted Article 3 of the Liberian Constitution, reminding the President that the Auditor General’s report is currently before them at the Legislature for hearing and once the report is validated, it should be send to the President before any action is taken.
Article 3 of Chapter 1 of the Liberian Constitution reads, “No person holding office in one of these branches shall hold office in or exercise any of the powers assigned to either of the other two branches except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, and no person holding office in one of the said branches shall serve on any autonomous public agency.”
Rep. Gahr emphasized that, therefore, any action by President Boakai against government officials should not be based on audit reports currently under review by the Joint Public Account Committee.
He called on the President to desist from taking actions against government’s current or past officials in the name of the audit report until they are concluded.
The Joint Committee Chairman also cautioned former public officials who are refusing to honor invitations for the hearings to desist from such acts and that the continued non-compliance could lead to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) being given the go-ahead to prosecute alleged corruption cases.
