MONROVIA – Former Information Minister, Lewis G. Brown and Dr. James Kollie who once served as Deputy Finance Minister for Fiscal Affairs, have reacted to the Liberian Government’s list of ex-officials who allegedly expended money from government coffers without accountability.
Report by Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]
The list which was confirmed by the Ministry of Information on Thursday, according to the Justice Ministry, comprise individuals and institutions investigated and audited by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission and the General Auditing Commission who were found liable and have been mandated by the office of the State Prosecutor to unconditionally restitute the stated amounts to the Government of Liberia to avert possible prosecution.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the Government has granted a Letter of Patent to Cllr. Syama Syrenius Cephus as State Prosecutor of the Republic of Liberia to practice and prosecute cases on behalf of the Government and people of Liberia.
Cllr. Cephus, who is also the Solicitor General-designate, has constituted a team of Criminal Investigators and Prosecuting Attorneys called the: “Assets Recovery Team” (ART) headed by Cllr. Arthur T. Johnson.
The Assets Recovery Team (ART) has been mandated to pursue the course of restitution as a way of recovering unconditionally all of the monies unaccounted for, and possible criminal prosecution will be pursued in the event where a negotiated settlement is not achieved, according to the Justice Ministry. In this case, an indictment would be drawn against such individuals and the courts would be petitioned for freeze and seize asserts.
Brown: I’m Not Aware of Any Audit
The list reveals that Mr. Brown, could not account for L$4,908,161.47and US$3,410,937.99between the period of July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2014 could not account when he served as Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism. It is not clear which audits the ART relied on.
However, Mr. Brown in a lengthy response to the list said, “It is instructive that none of the individuals listed under MICAT have either participated in any audit of MICAT by the GAC or have been made aware or participated in any investigation by the LACC. The closest I have come to information concerning the alleged conduct of an audit by the GAC was through a publication in the September 18, 2018 online and print edition of the FrontPageAfrica Newspaper, more than two and half years after I had left the MICAT, under the byline of journalist Alaskai Johnson.”
According to Brown, he cannot react to an audit that he did not participate in as he was unaware of.
He said in his reaction to the FPA’s 2018 article referencing an audit of the Ministry, he informed the Editor he was never consulted at any stage of said audit, neither was he acquainted with the findings of the audit.
However, I welcomed the need for continuous audit in the public service to ensure transparency and accountability, and cautioned that these important exercises be pursued with due professional care and diligence to avoid unnecessary, unintended and irreparable harm to the reputations of undeserving individuals or risks to the reputations of our public institutions that are tasked with performing these much-needed and important functions.
Mr. Brown who was recalled from the United Nations as Liberia’s Permanent Representative by Pres. George Weah said he only heard of the audit for the second time from the LiberianAnalyst online news outlet.
“As you can expect, the publications have caused me and my family undeserved embarrassment and public derision. I have to assume it has done the same for my colleagues as well,” he said.
James Kollie Reacts
Mr. Kollie, former Deputy Minister Finance Minister for Fiscal Affairs also wrote the Solicitor General-designate questioning the audit reports that led to his enlistment.
He wrote:
Dear Cllr. Cephas:
I present you greetings and wish to respectfully inquire about the basis upon which my name was mentioned on a list of ‘persons of interest’ issued by you on 19 June, 2019.
Cllr. Cephas, because the list reference to GAC Audit Reports for the period July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2017, I really do want to know the following:
Is there actually any audit report by the GAC on $13 million provided by the European Union?
Did that report, if it exists, ever mention my name?
Does that report have any response from me in it?
Is the mention of me or anyone purely on the basis of unsubstantiated media and press reports?
Cllr. Cephas, I am constrained to ask these questions because to the best of my knowledge, no auditor has ever asked me any question about EU $13 million and so for your press statement to claim that there is a GAC report is totally surprising and baffling.
And if there is no GAC Report, Cllr. Cephas, I want you to imagine the irreparable damage that you have caused to our reputation. For example, Boima S. Kamara was not even working at the Ministry of Finance in 2013 (the period of the purported report) and so it would be impossible for him to have been involved in any audit at that time.
Honorable Solicitor General (designate), I am hoping that you will take these questions in good faith and do everything you can to respond so that the record can be set straight.
Thanking you for your professionalism, I remain.
Yours truly,
James F. Kollie