By Bill W. Cooper
The Special Investigative Committee set up by the Unity Party (UP) to investigate the controversial US$365,000 inaugural celebrations fund is calling for the full restitution of funds received by the various county chairpersons.
“The Special Investigative Committee is pleased to recommend that the counties and districts without receipts, invoices, delivery notes, participant lists, and photos, be made to produce the required documents or restitute the amount disbursed at the county, electoral district, and administrative district levels,” the report said.
It can be recalled that on January 18, 2024, the UP’s finance office reportedly received an amount of US$365,000 from the party’s Inaugural Budget and Finance Committee, following instruction from President Joseph Boakai, then President-elect.
According to the party, the fund given was to enable the 73 electoral districts in the county to partake in the inaugural celebration, with a mandate for each district to receive US$5,000 for the organizing of activities in commemoration of the day.
However, amidst allegations of the funds being misapplied or stolen, the UP, through its Chairman, Luther Tarpeh, then set up a panel to investigate the allegation to establish circumstances surrounding the distribution of the funds.
At first, the Committee’s preliminary report in the possession of this paper, shows that there was no act of discrepancy and misappropriation of the funds, and that it was used for its purpose intended for.
But in its final report to Chairman Tarpeh over the weekend, the Committee, contrary to the first report, said all of the county chairs confirmed that they, together with a representative of the county’s leadership, signed for and received US$5,000 for each of the districts in their county.
According to the investigative report in our possession, the Committee confirmed that each of the county’s leaders withdrew US$1,000 from the US$5,000 they received for their districts.
It added, “Having realized that there was no fund for mobilization and other related expenses for disbursing to each district for the celebration, our report found that they engaged and requested the party Chairman to allow them to expand US$1,000 from each district fund for county leadership.
Chairman Tarpeh then granted them their request with the understanding that they will account for the US$1,000 with all necessary source documents, despite a clear procedure on the disbursement of the money for some counties,” the report revealed.
The Committee further established during their investigation that contrary to the disbursement procedure, the Party County leadership distributed the fund based on administrative districts, instead of electoral districts.
The report maintained, “For instance, Lofa County has 5 electoral Districts but 11 administrative districts. So, if Electoral District 1 has 3 administrative districts, each of the administrative districts will receive US$1,333.00.”
“We are therefore recommending that, owing to the fact that some counties reported none of the documents mentioned above, the finance committees should develop a policy on cash and cash control to be approved by the NEC for party functions.
The leadership must organize workshops to educate county branch polices on handling cash and reporting procedures, as well as establish a Welfare and Hospitality Committee to handle similar interventions in the future,” the reporter added.
Meanwhile, receiving the report, the UP Chairman thanked the Committee for the report and assured of the party’s commitment to ensuring its full implementation, aimed at ensuring accountability and transparency in line with the party policy.
