Monrovia — A serious corruption scandal is unfolding at the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) after Senator Crayton O. Duncan of Sinoe County officially alerted the Liberian Senate to what he describes as major administrative and financial wrongdoing within the institution.
In a letter dated March 10, 2025, addressed to Senator Amara Konneh, Chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Senator Duncan requested that the Senate summon the NDMA Executive Director and his two deputies to explain a growing list of troubling concerns.
According to the Senator, the NDMA -- the agency charged with helping citizens during disasters -- may have engaged in false reporting, mismanagement of funds, irregular procurement practices, and the violation of key financial regulations.
In response, the Senate has ordered a full investigation that is yet to be conducted.
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False Achievements in the National Budget
Senator Duncan informed the Senate that the NDMA listed eight achievements for 2024 in the 2025 National Budget. But upon closer review, lawmakers discovered that six of the reported accomplishments were actually completed by the previous administration.
When questioned, the Executive Director blamed the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning for allegedly copying the wrong information. However, when asked to provide the agency's true achievements, he submitted a second list that differed entirely from the first. Later, in his financial report, he provided yet another list -- a third version -- also inconsistent with the previous two.
These conflicting accounts raise serious doubts about what the NDMA actually accomplished in 2024 and how the allocated funds were used.
Deputies Side-lined, Power Centralized
A major concern raised in the Senator's letter centers on the apparent sidelining of the agency's two deputies. Under the law, the Deputy Director for Operations is responsible for requesting all relief items before purchase or distribution, while the Deputy Director for Administration oversees all financial requests and must co-sign financial documents before funds are spent.
According to Senator Duncan, these roles were ignored. This raises troubling questions about who approved purchases, who authorized the distribution of relief items, and who processed financial requests if the Deputy for Administration had been removed as a signatory from the agency's bank account -- despite legal requirements that the deputy be one of the three signers. The Senator revealed that the Executive Director personally removed the deputy from the account.
Serious Procurement Concerns
Senator Duncan urged the Senate to compel the NDMA to produce all procurement documents for purchases and contracts. He argued that it remains unclear who approved these transactions, whether a proper procurement process was followed, and how decisions about purchases were made. Without the appropriate paperwork, he warned, there is no way to determine whether public funds were used properly.
The FY2024 Budget -- Where Did the Money Go?
The Senator further noted that the NDMA received more than US $1.4 million after adjustments to the national budget. The Executive Director claims he was authorized to use US $1,386,997.04. But due to the inconsistencies in reports submitted to the Senate, Senator Duncan is calling for a full financial statement from the Central Bank of Liberia to detail how every dollar entered and left the agency's accounts -- a step that underscores lawmakers' growing concern that something is deeply wrong.
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Senate Launches Investigation
The letter concludes with Senator Duncan calling on the Senate's Joint Committee on the Public Accounts Committee and the Autonomous Agencies Committee to launch a full-scale investigation into the NDMA. He stresses that the issues raised involve public funds, disaster relief resources, the breakdown of internal checks and balances, and the possible abuse of power by the Executive Director.
Part #1 -- What Happens Next?
Additionally, FrontPage Africa has uncovered that the Agency presented the same achievements in 2024 performance reports as the same achievements in 2025 performance report.
The FPA will continue to follow this developing story as senators prepare to question the NDMA's top leadership.
