Monrovia – Members of the 54th House of Representatives on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 passed the Fiscal Year 2018/2019 National Budget with high priority projects and initiatives being identified for funding, prompting the projection of US$9.6 Million for said projects under the caption, Pro-Poor Projects for completion in FY17/18.
Of the total, US$1,000,000.00 was placed in extra account and directed to government-backed credit line to stimulate private sector development, but this amount has come under serious questioning by the People’s Action Network of Liberia, a civil society group in Liberia who stated that its procedure lacks transparency and accountability.
The amount is streamlined in the budget to help struggling Liberian businesses improve, but the group Executive Director Rufus Neuville on Wednesday expressed fear that said amount may not reach its intended beneficiaries, noting that the process of expending the fund is unclear.
Neuville expressed fear that fraud may be the order of the day, noting that few top brass from the Ministry of Finance and Commerce may use the opportunity to divert the fund to their private businesses.
According to him, the refusal of the two ministries to outline procedure leading to obtaining the fund has created room for the some senior officials at the Ministries of Finance and Commerce to establish new businesses to get huge portion of the fund at the expense of struggling business people.
“This intervention is not new as previous budget made similar consideration for small businesses but later became an issue of fraud leading to some executive action,” Neuville said.
The US$1 million set aside for small businesses in the recast budget of FY17/18 has not departed from this ugly precedence. The Ministries of Finance and Commerce have refused to draw up and advertise or publicize the criteria for gaining access to said funds even at the end of the budget year.”
He attributed the alleged failure of the underlined ministries to publicize criteria leading to benefitting from the US$1,000,000.00 to creeping financial irregularities in the George Weah-led pro-poor administration.
In a communication to House Speaker Bhofal Chambers dated Wednesday, June 27, 2018, Neuville noted that instead of playing a game with said amount, the Ministry of Finance and Commerce must draw up and advertise the criteria for gaining access to said fund by small businesses to avoid fraud.
In 2017, an audit was conducted on similar fund, which brought to spotlight some top brass in the country liable for squandering such fund and registering fake businesses.
In a press conference Wednesday at the Capitol in Monrovia, Neuville said similar situation might be repeated in the current administration, if necessary steps are not taken by National Legislature to ensure transparency.
His communication further requests the august body to mandate the Ministries of Finance and Commerce to draw up and publicize the criteria for Liberian businesses to benefit from the government-backed credit fund.
At the same time, the former Montserrado County District Number Two lawmaker also emphasized the need that businesses owned and operated by officials at the two ministries or their relatives be disallowed from participating in the process.
“Let the newly registered businesses be subjected to a higher level of scrutiny and that the Liberia Business Association, (LIBA) Coalition of Liberian Business Organization, Patriotic Entrepreneurs of Liberia and other business associations form part of a special committee to vet the applicants,” Mr. Neuville maintained.
People Action Network Executive Director has in the meantime called for the decentralization of the government-backed credit program to be decentralized in the 15 political subdivisions of Liberia as a way of promoting government pro-poor agenda.