Country ... Liberia
Financial Misfeasdance in Government

[e-drug] Liberia: Hidden Treasury Uncovered - GAC Performs Routine Audit

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Gmail Peter Burgess [e-drug] Liberia: Hidden Treasury Uncovered - GAC Performs Routine Audit 1 message Bruneton Carinne Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 5:46 AM Reply-To: Essential Drugs in English To: e-drug@healthnet.org E-DRUG: Liberia: Hidden Treasury Uncovered - GAC Performs Routine Audit ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [This story touches on the impact on services related to essential medicines - of inappropriate financial transactions} Liberia: Hidden Treasury Uncovered - GAC Performs Routine Audit By Danesius Marteh http://allafrica.com/stories/201508311310.html Monrovia: The General Auditing Commission (GAC) is currently performing a routine audit of the National Drug Service (NDS). But Front Page Africa (FPA) has gathered that the NDS has been operating a covert account at the International Bank (IB Liberia) Limited, which was not given to auditors during their engagement meetings.

..... The account contained US$852,680.69 and was operated between January 2010 to May 2012, according to a statement seen by FPA.

Several transactions were performed during the period under review but there is no trace of payees. FPA was told that all NDS check payments must be covered by payment vouchers to which all supporting documents substantiating the payments must be attached. In the case of withdrawals from this account, absolutely no payment vouchers were done, our reporter has observed.In keeping with internationally accepted financial and or accounting principles, all NDS bank accounts must appear in their books (ledgers) and be a part of accounting records but this account is not part of any accounting records, according to sources speaking on condition of anonymity.

The GAC, in doing its audits, asked for bank address (es) but FPA understands that the NDS has not shown this IB Liberia account.

FPA gathered that this covert account was operated by Tom Gulley, who ran the NDS in the 1990s-2013 along with his deputy Beyan Johnson, who took over the mantle of authority as of October 2013.

The GAC was successful in prosecuting its former finance and administrative assistant Wesley S. Jlue for multiple financial crimes but it is not clear if the prosecution, defense and judge took judicial notice of this account if it was ever raised during the proceedings. Jlue's lawyer has excepted to the guilty verdict by announcing an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Audit mandate

Section 53.1 of the executive law gave the GAC a large audit scope to audit public and private entities that received public funds.

The estimated number of institutions and programs in the mandate is 85 government departments, ministries, agencies and public corporations. Additionally, the mandate also requires GAC to audit local governments,other municipalities, embassies and diplomatic missions.

Posted by 'Bruneton Carinne' Moderator E-med _______________________________________________ E-Drug, an e-forum on essential drugs, is moderated by a team of international experts, and hosted by the FHI360-SATELLIFE Center for Health Information and Technology (www.healthnet.org). To subscribe: e-drug-join@healthnet.org To unsubscribe: e-drug-leave@healthnet.org To discuss (subscribers only): e-drug@healthnet.org For help: e-drug-owner@healthnet.org For archives: www.essentialdrugs.org/edrug/archives.php