Monrovia — A compliance audit of the Special Investigation at the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) conducted by the General Auditing Commission (GAC) has revealed that the LTA failed to remit government revenue and Illegally awarded the headquarters construction contract.
The compliance audit, for the year January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, was conducted in compliance with relevant laws and regulations consistent with the Auditor General's mandate as provided for in Section 2.1.3 of the GAC Act of 2014 as well as in accordance with other relevant laws.
The audit revealed that LTA Management did not remit Government's share of cash collections on accrued revenue totaling US$3,859,662.18 for the period January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023.
"Management continues to pay TIA 49% share of revenue during 2023 rather than the 45% stipulated in the contract for the remaining four years of the contract," the report revealed.
The report also established that the Auditor General's report that closing cash balance didn't reconcile to the Government of Liberia's unremitted share of revenue collected amounted to US$$2,943,010.33 for the period under audit.
"Management did not ensure that the nine percent (9%) regulatory fee charge on total revenue of Mobile Network Operators (MTN and Orange) is included as part of the revenue sharing for TIA."
"Management did not open Liberian Dollars transitory bank account at the Unite Bank of Africa Liberia Limited to receive collections paid in Liberian Dollars consistent with the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding.
LTA Headquarters construction contract," the report revealed.
The following irregularities, the audit report revealed, were associated with the monitoring and evaluation of the LTA
Headquarters construction contract, revealing that there was no evidence of a bidding process initiated for the hiring of a project independent evaluator (headquarters project technical supervisor) even though a communication was submitted by the Ministry of Public Works to LTA providing lists of consultancy service firms for technical supervisors as included in the procurement plan.
The audit also established that there was no evidence of a procurement process conducted nor was there a contract entered into between the subsequently hired private evaluator, Hasan Al-Turabi Samura, and LTA.
Also, the audit added, there was no evidence of business registration, tax clearance, and ToR for the amount of US$1,000 paid to assess the status of the project for the next milestone payment term (12% US$552,491.76).
"The private evaluator, Hasan Al-Turabi Samura, did not comprehensively catalogued technical details of construction works performed backed by pictorial evidence. However, the report was used as a basis of disbursement of US$903,368.00 made to Building Material Center Group Incorporated for service performed," the audit report established.
The audit also established that the LTA management made two payments totalling L$169,319,769.20 (approximately US$903,368.00) to BMC Incorporated in excess of the second payment terms in violation of the contract milestone for the 12% payment of the total contract amount. evaluator, Hasan y: Tura i saira, ego te septeme 9, 2023, Fue termore, the two payments exceeded the 12% second payment term in the contract by US$360,876.24.
As per the audit, there was no evidence that the members of the bid evaluation committee had the technical expertise and experience to evaluate a construction project technical proposal.
"There was no evidence that the bid evaluation committee assessed and established the rights and ownership of assets in the bid proposal per the bid evaluation criteria," the audit established.
Recommendation
Management should account for the unremitted Government of Liberia (GoL) share of revenue amounting to US$4,035,147.58. Additionally, management must immediately facilitate the deposit of this unremitted amount into the consolidated account.
Moving forward, the GAC recommends that management ensure the timely deposit of the GoL's share of revenue into the consolidated account. The Revenue Sharing MOU should be revised to incorporate the approved revenue-sharing rates determined by the Legislature at the start of each fiscal year. These approved rates between the TIA, LTA, and GoL should be automatically reflected in the transitory account to ensure the proper distribution of fees as they are remitted.
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Management should also conduct periodic reconciliations of revenue-sharing analyses, comparing billed amounts, collected amounts, and payments made to the parties involved. Any discrepancies identified should be investigated and corrected in subsequent disbursements. Evidence of these periodic revenue reconciliations, along with supporting records, should be properly documented and filed for future review.
Management's Response
In its response, management stated, "We have observed that the auditors understated the total remittances in Liberian Dollars for the GoL's share of telecommunications revenue. The auditors reported a total of L$546,053,627.39, whereas the actual amount is L$575,223,561.55, resulting in an understatement of L$29,169,934.16."
According to management, the remittances were paid by the LTA and transferred to the GoL in 2024. The delay in processing was due to the Central Bank of Liberia's inability to issue Manager's Checks in a timely manner to support the remittances to the GoL.
