Monrovia – In the wake of allegations of budget manipulations, House Speaker Alex Tyler remains mute, saying he will not respond to Representative Edwin Snowe’s allegation but will do so at the appropriate time.
Report by Henry Karmo – [email protected]
Representative Edwin Snowe (District#6 Montserrado County) on a local radio Wednesday and Thursday alleged that House Speaker Tyler is manipulating the national budget to fund his opposition Liberia People Democratic Party (LPDP).
While the 2016/2017 draft budget is currently at the Legislature, the Cabinet on Wednesday July 20 issued a statement following a cabinet meeting, pointing to this long held allegation of budget manipulations between some officials of the Executive and the Legislature, with Cabinet threatening its officials against budget manipulation.
In a statement following a cabinet meeting, an Executive Mansion release quoted the Cabinet: “Cabinet, has carefully reviewed the status updates on key benchmarks in the areas of roads, ports, water & sanitation, education as well as Task Force performance covering agriculture and agro-processing and manufacturing and business support; threatened punitive action against any member of the executive involved in budget manipulation and mandated a vigorous and aggressive Sector Ministers-led Town Hall meeting education and information-dissemination campaigns”.
The Executive Mansion is yet to provide explanation for the warning to officials of the Executive branch of government against budget manipulation, a warning coming at a time the draft budget before the National Legislature.
Article 34 (d) of the 1986 constitution gives the Legislature the power to make appropriations for the fiscal governance of the country.
It is provided in Article 34 (d) The Legislature shall have the power: d)to levy taxes, duties, imports, exercise and other revenues, to borrow money, issue currency, mint coins, and to make appropriations for the fiscal governance of the Republic, subject to the following qualifications: (ii) no monies shall be drawn from the treasure except in consequence of appropriations made by legislative enactment and upon warrant of the President; and no coin shall be minted or national currency issued except by the expressed authority of the Legislature. An annual statement and account of the expenditure of all public monies shall be submitted by the office of the President to the Legislature and published once a year…”