Monrovia – The Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs says it is currently reviewing the Internal Audit Agency’s Report on Presidential Appointees Payment to verify payments made to officials of government who were removed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
The review and verification investigation will also cover banking institutions holding Direct Deposit Salary Accounts for officials and employees of government. This will establish the utilization and/or availability of funds reportedly deposited into the various accounts.
Upon concluding the review and verification process, appropriate actions will be taken consistent with the findings of the exercise.
The Executive Mansion commends Mr. Amos Tweh who upon realizing the deposit of funds into his account months after leaving office reported the matter to the office of the President prompting the Internal Audit Agency’s investigation.
The special audit of the payroll and payment process of presidential appointees conducted by the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) has established that dismissed and resigned presidential appointees received their regular salaries for months after their dismissal and resignation.
The IAA special audit established that an accumulated amount of US$167,009.87 and LD$2,980,331.70 from January 2015 – February 2016 were paid in salaries to presidential appointees who were either dismissed or resigned.
The purpose of this special audit was to appraise the system of payment for presidential appointees and highlight anomalies and its attending cost to the Government.
The audit intends to support the various departments and entities involved to develop and institute the appropriate internal control mechanisms to curtail any problems that may arise.
The audit covered the payroll of all presidential appointees from July 2014 – February 2016.
It was sanctioned by Dr. James Kollie at the time he served as acting Minister of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP).
“We reviewed the payrolls to verify that names of all dismissed appointees or those who resigned were deleted.
Presidential appointees usually receive 80 percent of their salaries in US dollars and 20 percent in Liberian dollars.
“From July 2014 – February 2016, a total of 34 persons were dismissed or resigned.
However, 14 names remained on the payrolls for at least one month after their dismissal, or resignation,” the IAA special report stated.
An amount of US$40,890.88 and LD$1,109,046.97 paid to Mr. Ousman S. Tall who served as assistant minister at the Ministry of Agriculture but resigned/dismissed on June 18, 2015 allegedly received salary until November 2015, amounting to US$9,662.48 and L$236,230.80 .
This amount was, however, recovered by the MFDP.
US$31,228.40 and L$872,816 were recovered from Amos B. Tweh who served as Deputy Minister at the Internal Affairs Ministry.
He was replaced on April 1, 2015, however, monthly salary payment was made to his accounts until January 2016.
The alleged failure on the part of line ministries/agencies to notify the Comptroller and Accountant General’s office about the dismissal or resignation of some presidential appointees led to the payment of US$126,118.99 and LD$1,871,284.73.
These amounts were, however, not recovered.
Kau Kidor, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Transport resigned/dismissed January 2015 but allegedly received her monthly salary from February 2015 to February 2016 totaling US$45,699.14.
Former Assistant at the Minister of Commerce, Sieh Gahn, who was replaced in July 2014 according to the report, received the total amount of US$32,970.83 and L$$889,069.64 from January 2015 – February 2016.
Hawa Goll-Kotchi who served as Deputy Minister Ministry Of Education was replaced on April 7, 2015 received US$3,619.28 and L$82,473.60.
Tokunboh Lawrence, former Assistant Minister at the Ministry Of Education was also replaced on April 7, 2015 but received salary for May 2015 in the tone of US$ 2,419.28 and L$57,093.41.
Blokonjay Jackson, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Education replaced on April 7, 2015 allegedly received US$2,419.28.
Mr. Mohammed A. Paasewe, Superintendent/Grand Cape Mount who was dismissed on May 2015 allegedly received his monthly salary from June to October 2015 in the sum of US$11,215.96 and L$ 293,980.58.
Former Grand Bassa Superintendent Etweeda A. Cooper who resigned in September 2015 continued to receive her salary until January 2016. She received US$9,660.15 and L$ 237,492.07.
Rixck Barsi-Giah who was dismissed in January 2015 as assistant minister at the Ministry of Information, allegedly received salary from February 2015 to April 2015, totaling US$4,837.95 and L$114,515.01.
Ramses Kumbuya, former Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education was replaced on April 7, 2015 received salary for May 2015 at US$ 3,619.28 and L$82,473.60.
The special audit report concluded that “efficient control mechanisms have not been designed to monitor and manage the payroll and payment process of Presidential appointees so as to ensure that additions and deletions are carried out on a timely basis.”
The lack of control, according to the report, has resulted in significant financial loss of US$126,118.99 and LD$1,871,284.73.
Though US$40,890.88 and LD$1,109,046.97 were recovered, this, according to the report, does not negate the fact that control weakness still exists in the process.
The audit scope was limited to a period of 14 months due to lack of documents.
However, the significant findings, according to the report, indicated the existence of additional appointees who might have benefited from payments beyond their service period which could further increase the financial loss.
The IAA mentioned the need for the MFDP to design effective controls to reduce the risk of wrong payments and ensure that Presidential appointees’ payroll is updated on a timely basis.
“MFDP should not always await notification from the line ministries or agencies.”
“They should take action based on information from the Executive Mansion website in the case of dismissal,” the report recommended.
FrontPage Africa could not reach most of those listed in the report but former Grand Bassa County Superintendent, Etweeda Cooper, said when she resigned as Superintendent, she was asked by the president to act in the stead until a new superintendent could be appointed.
Speaking to FrontPageAfrica via telephone from the United Kingdom where he is currently on studies, Tweh said he was taken aback by the presentation of the special audit report in that he had alerted the President and the then Controller General of payments being made to his account by the Government though he was out of government.
Tweh in his reaction to the IAA report said, “As a patriotic Liberian the first thing I thought to do was to get the bank statement and after I got the bank statement I immediately alerted the Ministry of Finance and the President of the Republic of Liberia. I drove to her with my bank statement and I indicated to her that ‘Madam President, while I was out of job apparently your government was still paying me’.
“I could have taken that money but as a young patriotic Liberian I thought not to do that because I have more responsibility to my country. When I showed my bank statement to the President she was shocked, she was surprised so she immediately commended me.
“After that particular process, the President drove from her farm the following day and called me to her house to properly verify the information and she took the bank statement and I’m sure she called the Ministry of Finance team.”
According to Tweh, President Sirleaf indicated to him, “That because of your patriotic spirit I will try my possible best to ensure that we give you some kind of national honor because it is the first time in the history of my administration for a dismissed or a former official to come and turn this amount over.”
Tweh further told FrontPageAfrica that it was after his interaction with the President when she informed him that she was going to instruct the Ministry of Finance to initiate an audit to identify other dismissed or appointed officials of government who were still receiving monthly salaries.
“I must say to you that it was because of my report of the excess amount in my bank account that’s how the Government of Liberia instructed the Internal Audit Agency or Secretariat to commission that audit of all former or resigned government officials.
“It’s so surprising that James Kollie or the Ministry of Finance team or the Internal Audit Agency did not indicate that it was because of Amos Tweh that’s how today we managed to recover or know much was paid into the accounts of former government officials,” Tweh asserted.
In a related development, former assistant minister of agriculture, Ousman S. Tall, from whose account US$40,890.88 and LD$1,109,046.97 in a telephone interview from Paris, France told FrontPageAfrica he was out country when he was replaced on June 18, 2015.
He said upon his return, he realized that some amounts were paid into this account at LBDI Bank and later withdrawn without his knowledge. He said the bank debited and credited his account without alerting him.
“The paid the money into my account in my absence and even in my absence there was no reference made to me. They asked the bank to give the money back to them, the bank did not inform me of that and they did. So this is something that I knew nothing about.
The Assistant Minister, Alieu Nyei, is aware because when I got back I met him and we talked about it… He said we paid you and we just asked the bank to do a direct deposit back to us,” he told FrontPageAfrica.
According to Tall, he never received the money and that the picture should not be that he used the money and had to pay back to government.
The Executive Summary of the IAA special report on the audit of Presidential appointees payroll indicates that the Acting Minister of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), Dr. James Kollie requested the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) to conduct a review of Presidential appointees’ payroll and payment process from July 2014 – February 2016, with the aim of being accurately informed about payroll irregularities such as appointees being paid after termination of service.
The payroll of Presidential appointees is processed by the office of the Controller and Accountant General and the Assistant Minister of Expenditure at MFDP.
Presidential appointees receive 80% of their salary in U.S. dollars and 20% in Liberian dollars.
Because of its strategic location in the entities, its effectiveness and efficiency in executing such onerous tasks within a short period, the IAA was requested to conduct the special audit focusing on the payroll.
