MONROVIA, LIBERIA — August 15, 2026: More than US$100,000 worth of assets cited in a General Auditing Commission (GAC) audit of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Smallholder Agriculture Transformation and Agribusiness Revitalization Project (STAR-P) have been physically located at beneficiary sites in Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount and Lofa counties.
By Augustus D.R Bortue-augustus d.r [email protected]
The findings provide additional context to observations contained in the GAC Management Letter following its audit of STAR-P’s financial statements for the period ended October 31, 2025.
At the Cheenah Group of Companies (CGC) in District 4B, Grand Bassa County, the GAC reported that approximately US$68,000 in fixed assets acquired under Component 3 for oil-palm processing activities had not been coded at the time of the audit.
The assets included a 5.2-ton Isuzu mini truck valued at US$29,500, two motorized tricycles valued at US$10,600, a TVS motorbike valued at US$2,000, and approximately US$25,900 in oil palm processing equipment.
A subsequent visit to the CGC facility found major assets on site bearing identification codes.
The Isuzu truck carried code MOA-STAR-P-02-01-CGG-GB, while the two motorized tricycles carried codes MOA-STAR-P-02-02-CGG-GB and MOA-STAR-P-02-03-CGG-GB. Components of the palm-oil processing mill, including two boilers, a palm-fruit thresher and crusher, and a butter clarification tank, were also observed.
CGC Chief Executive Officer James Whawhen Jr. said the company could account for the project-supported equipment and was focused on using the investment to increase production and create jobs.
“All the equipment and supplies provided to us are accounted for; they are available, and nothing—not one single thing—is missing.”
In Grand Cape Mount County, the GAC reported that US$33,500 in assets at TOTAG Farm in Pokundu, Tewor District, were not made available during its physical verification. These included a 10-by-20-foot cold-storage unit valued at US$11,000, a 10-kW solar power grid system valued at US$10,000, and an 8-by-20-foot shade-net greenhouse.
A subsequent visit found the referenced items stored at the farm, with some still in their original cartons.
TOTAG Farm owner Madam Tonieh Alpha Gwoah said she was away from the farm because of an emergency when the GAC auditors visited. The enterprise is currently engaged in vegetable production, using water from the Mano River for irrigation. The equipment forms part of a broader matching grant of approximately US$137,000 awarded to the enterprise by STAR-P in 2024 under the Liberia Agriculture Commercialization Fund.
In Lofa County, the status of motorcycles referenced in the audit was also established at Kaming Cooperative Society Limited. The assets comprised two TVS motorbikes valued at US$2,100 and a TVS JIVE 100cc valued at US$1,300.
Information obtained at the site indicated that the motorcycles, as mobile assets, were off-site when the GAC auditors conducted their physical verification and were therefore unavailable for inspection at the time.
The subsequent findings do not invalidate the GAC’s observations, which reflected the conditions encountered during the audit. They instead provide additional information on the status of the assets and underscore the distinction between property that is unavailable for inspection at a particular time and property that cannot ultimately be accounted for.
The GAC findings also reinforce the importance of proper asset coding, documentation, inventory management, and arrangements that allow project-funded property to be readily identified and presented for verification.
Further examination of other sites and assets cited in the audit would help provide a fuller account of STAR-P-funded property and determine whether outstanding observations relate to documentation and availability gaps or assets that ultimately cannot be accounted for.
