Senate Rejects Submitting To GAC’s Audit

By Alex Yomah
The Liberian Senate has overwhelmingly refused to submit itself to the General Auditing Commission (GAC) to be audited.
The Senate’s decision to reject the amended motion to allow the GAC audit that august was triggered by Sinoe County Senator, J. Milton Teahjay, following a previous motion by the Grand Cape Mount County Senator, Varney Sherman, in which he had earlier requested the Public Account Committee (PAC) instead to carry out the said audit.
In Senator Teahjay’s motion for amendment, he recommended that the PAC’s role at the Legislature is intended to review audit reports submitted to that body from the same GAC to the Legislature for onward decision and or approval by Executive.
“GAC should conduct the audit of the Senate and submit said report to the PAC for its revision and the said findings thereafter will be submitted to plenary for action,” Teahjay proposed.
Interestingly, Senator Teahjay’s proposal sparked serious debate between members of the Liberian Senate which lasted for nearly five minutes in yesterday’s session before votes were finally taken.
Senator Sherman rejected the amended motion to allow the GAC directly audit the Legislature but accepted another amended motion calling for the audit to be limited to only the Senate which would mean that the Senate will be audited by itself.
Montserrado County Senator, Abraham Darious Dillon in a communication addressed to the Liberian Senate craved that body to allow the Legislature ranging from 53rd Legislature to current 54th Legislature under President George Manneh Weah be audited in its entirety.
According to him, the Legislature which has the constitutional power to probe governmental functionaries in within the Executive, must be audited to establish its own moral out-rightness as a first branch of the Government.