Joseph Boakai is continuing his fight against corruption in Liberia. On Thursday, the new president announced an audit of three crucial government institutions: the Central Bank, the National Security Agency, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The General Auditing Commission has been tasked with undertaking the verification process, spanning the tenure of former President George Weah from 2018 to 2023. The commission will meticulously scrutinize all documents from the three institutions, examining their revenues and expenditures. The objective? To ascertain the accuracy of the accounts.
In the case of the Central Bank, anomalies have already been noted. Before his departure, former President George Weah disclosed to the nation that he had left a balance of over $40 million in government accounts. However, this statement was promptly contested by the current head of state, Joseph Boakai, who asserts that the balance is closer to $20 million. One of the key tasks of this audit committee will therefore be to determine the veracity of these claims.
Regarding the National Security Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency, the focus is on understanding the amounts of money received and spent by these two major recipients of public funds. Since the end of the civil war in Liberia, these two institutions have never undergone an audit.
For Oscar Bloh, a political analyst, the commission’s work signifies a turning point in the fight against impunity. “Everything now hinges on the conclusions of this audit and President Joseph Boakai’s response.”