Liberia: Finance Minister Urges LACC Probe Into GAC Audit Findings of 2023, 2024

9 September 2025
The Liberian Investigator (Monrovia)

Published: September 9, 2025

MONROVIA -- Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has called on the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) to investigate recent audit findings by the General Auditing Commission (GAC), citing unresolved documentation issues in the ministry's accounts.

Speaking Monday on ELBC Radio's Super Morning Show, Ngafuan urged the LACC to examine two key items highlighted in the audits: US$96 million questioned in the 2023 report and US$2.8 million flagged in the 2024 report.

Audit Opinions: From Adverse to Qualified

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The minister said the 2023 audit of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) received an adverse opinion from the GAC due largely to undocumented transactions amounting to US$96 million.

By contrast, the 2024 audit returned a qualified opinion, which Ngafuan described as evidence of "significant system improvement." He acknowledged, however, that weaknesses remain.

Breakdown of 2024 Findings

Ngafuan explained that part of the US$2.8 million flagged in 2024 stemmed from payments made on Sept. 9, 2024: about US$423,482 disbursed to the Ministry of Education to settle local scholarship arrears for 2022-2024. The GAC determined that documentation for those payments was inadequate.

"Auditors don't come to say you have stolen. They come to look at those internal weaknesses and provide recommendations for improvement," Ngafuan said. "We don't claim perfection. There are issues we must work on."

Records Management Reforms

The minister said the MFDP is addressing record-keeping shortcomings through an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) scheduled to be fully operational by December 2025. Once online, he said, the platform will improve retrieval of government financial documents and reduce audit gaps.

During the radio program, Ngafuan displayed a 2011 government memo that had called for modernizing the ministry's archives, saying the new system represents fulfillment of that long-standing goal.

Public Understanding

Ngafuan also appealed for greater public awareness of the budgeting process, warning against premature judgments.

"We must avoid labeling good characters as criminals based on misunderstandings or incomplete information," he said.

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