Senator Konneh Recommends An Independent Audit Of Legislature

By Lloydson G.Flomo

 Gbarpolu County Senator, Amara Konneh is calling for an independent body or preferably the General Auditing Commission (GAC) to be given the responsibilities to investigate the alleged budget alteration controversy in the legislature.

In a social media post, Senator Konneh said, "We appreciate Pro-Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence establishing a Senate ad-hoc committee to investigate the reported budget modifications. Nevertheless, we recommend that the General Auditing Commission (GAC) or another independent entity be responsible for this investigation".

Senator Konneh added that the Legislature is an exciting institution where dedicated reformers invest their time and expertise in identifying and addressing various issues to bring about positive change.

He noted that the ongoing discussion about changes to the budget and the resulting controversy within the Legislature serves as a prime example as it is evident that someone within the Executive Branch or a group of legislators adjusted the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget.

However, the Gbarpolu County Senator noted that there are instances where some lawmakers exploit these critical issues within a flawed and corrupt system for personal gain as they create complex layers to exploit the situation in their misguided efforts.

“You will understand my point if you have read the House of Representatives investigation report. They blamed the poor Deputy Chief Clerk and pointed the finger at the Senate Secretary, Case closed," Konneh added.

“First, when you raise a governance issue, they ask you to slow down, so that they can solve it in-house. Then nothing happens! Second, they set up committees with mandates to do damage control, not to make us look bad to the public, and the outcome is to discredit the reformers and third, they program others to accuse those who raised the issues of being compromised or corrupted for their silence,” he complained.

He said efforts at reform are beaten back, and Liberia loses as it is crucial to support and empower individuals who make significant discoveries intended for improving governance, ensuring they are not unjustly targeted or discredited for pointing out lapses in governance as their contributions.

“The evidence is clearly outlined in the publicly available budget book by comparing the approved budget on April 30, 2024, with the enacted budget on May 8, 2024, and referring to the final budget numbers on page xxi (Section 1.7: Sector Summary) of the Budget Book, it's clear that modifications have been made. Instead of investigating whether the budget was altered, the focus should be on who made the changes, where they moved the money, and for what purpose," he intoned.

He said it would be beneficial to have the GAC or an independent external body to conduct a thorough investigation, as it's not credible for the involved institution to investigate itself as involving other entities would be necessary to maintain transparency and ensure no attempt to manipulate the situation for personal gain or to control the damage it has caused.

Senator Konneh further stated that Liberians must speak up and take action to hold their elected officials accountable as the Legislature is responsible for making positive changes for the people, citing that it's crucial for the public to demand transparency and meaningful reforms.

For example, the Senator added, over the past decade and a half, the Legislature has spent significant money on its work but has not published a single budget execution report since 2006.

He highlighted that “the public needs to push for accountability and tangible results, otherwise, at the end of the fiscal year, Liberians will mysteriously discover enormous budget overruns in year-end fiscal out turns without explanations”.

“We will therefore submit our letter to the Plenary today, formally requesting that the GAC or an independent body conduct the investigation, and I don't think anyone will oppose this if they are interested in the truth,” he concluded.