Monrovia – From all indications it appears that two long-awaited reports on Liberia’s missing sixteen billion and perhaps the report on the US$25 million will be released this week.
Report by Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]
Multiple sources confirmed to FrontPageAfrica Monday that the USAID-funded report was expected to be officially turned over to the Liberian government on Thursday, February 28, 2019 during a Press conference while the Special Presidential Task Force formulated by the Liberian government and headed by Mr. Charles Gibson of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission was expected to officially make known their findings to the Liberian people on Wednesday, February 27, 2019, a day before the USAID report is made public.
Source: Date Set for 68-Pages USAID Report
Those plans, FPA have now learned have been tweaked due to the absence from the country of the head of the Special Task Force, Mr. Charles Gibson.
Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Mr. Nathaniel McGill, acting in the absence of President George Manneh Weah, reportedly requested Mr. Gibson to return home at once.
Gibson, according to highly-placed sources was expected to have arrived in Monrovia on Monday from the US, where he was on a working trip in time for the press conference on Wednesday; but the date was changed after a reported engine failure by SN Brussels which led to the postponement of the flight bringing Mr. Gibson to Monrovia.
FPA has now been informed that the Task Force head will now arrive vial SN Brussels Tuesday night and the press conference has now been moved to Thursday.
The announcement format of the USAID report, according to sources, has now been also changed with sources telling FPA that the report will instead by posted on the agency’s website on Friday, March 1, 2019.
FrontPageAfrica has also learned that the USAID report has been able to identify major lapses in the operations of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) operations. However, what is unclear is the extent to which it will point to what actually happened to the LD16 billion and whether it would offer any findings on the US$25 million that was earmarked for infusion in the economy to mop up the excess liquidity of Liberian dollars.
Last July, President George Manneh Weah mandated the CBL to infuse US$25 million into the economy to mop up the excess liquidity of Liberian dollars. The bank was also mandated to provide more effective supervision and regulation of money-changers or foreign exchange bureau provide a more robust oversight of banks under its supervision conduct a comprehensive review of regulations on the hoarding of both Liberian dollars and U.S. dollars outside the banking system and provide incentives and safeguards to encourage the utilization of the banking system, including financial instruments.
To the surprise of many, the money was not processed through the banking system but outside of it.
President Weah’s Economic Management Team, headed by Finance and Development Planning Minister Samuel Tweah told a legislative public hearing last November that although the infusion of a US$25 million stimulus package, helped to thwart what was gradually becoming a looming financial crisis, the transaction, unlike others during the past government, was done exclusively outside the banking sector. In fact, the minister went as far as to suggest and offered assurances that the CBL, which was responsible for the process, has documents with the names, telephone numbers, and emails of all those who benefited.
$US25M Mop-up Clouded in Mystery
What none of our sources have been able to confirm is whether investigators were able to confirm that the names on that list confirmed receiving what the minister reported that they did.
According to the Minister of the US$25 million, US$17.1 million was used to mop up LD$2.3 billion from the market and stated further that the US$25 million was not intended to remain sustainable but a quick action intervention, which has helped to keep the exchange rate stable for some time.
He said that currently, there is L$17.1 billion in circulation outside the banking sector. Ironically, during the first year of the CDC-led government, the newly-printed LD notes were scarce in both the banking sector and amongst businesses.
Businesses have for most of the past year been trading the old bank notes with the Central Bank – from their daily sales. Those notes are in turn used by the banks for consumers, many of who complained during the 2018 holiday season that the commercial banks were unable to service their needs.
Here is where things are supposedly about to get tricky.
An issue that is likely to take precedence over the more pressing concerns of what actually happened to the LD16billion is that of the extra printing of LD notes by the Swedish-based company, Crane Currency.
Multiple sources with knowledge of workings with both reports have confirmed to FrontPageAfrica that over the last few weeks, efforts have been made to have the two reports reconciled due to discrepancy regarding the total amount of extra notes printed by Crane.
Irreconcilable Difference: LD1.944 Billon vs. LD2.6 Billion
Here’s where things are supposedly sticky once more.
The USAID report will reportedly conclude that the CBL, under former Governor Milton Weeks ordered LD printing in excess of LD 1.944 billion (one billion nine hundred and four million) while the Task Force report is expected to conclude that their figures put the CBL under former governor Weeks in the excess of LD2.6billion (Two billion six hundred million).
The irreconcilable difference is said to be a key reason for the delay in the release the report which has been in the pipeline for release after the 2018 holiday period. Sources say US investigators had been working behind the scenes with the Task Force in a bid to reconcile the numbers but those efforts did not materialize.
The report, according to sources, is likely to hold Crane Currency with conspiracy and contain recommendation that the Liberian government Institute legal actions, both civil and criminal against the company for printing more than the set amount ordered approved by the legislature.
FrontPageAfrica has also gathered from sources familiar with both reports that the report is expected to indict at least six senior executives of the CBL, including former Governor Milton Weeks and his deputy Charles Sirleaf, who is the son of former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Also to be indicted are former and current directors of Banking, Mr. Richard Walker and Dorbor Hagba respectively.
While many Liberians are eagerly anticipating answers as to what actually happened to the missing billions, those familiar with the findings caution that there may be some disappointment with emphasis reportedly directed more toward who authorized the extra printing and where did it go?
Once source said late Monday, “there are fears that the USAID does not address the real substance of “where is the Liberian people money”, “where did it vanished to “? and “who expended the Liberia people money “? But as this report went to press, one diplomat in the USAID circle dismissed concerns about the report being watered down as many are speculating and fearing. “I can tell you that the report will be published as submitted by the investigators,” the source concluded. The next 48 to 72 hours will more than likely provide the answers many are anticipating.