(LINA) – Grand Bassa County District #4 Representative, Vincent Willie, has called on the Plenary of the House of Representatives to instruct the General Auditing Commission (GAC) to conduct an audit of the House for the periods covering fiscal years 2016/2017, 2017/2018 and 2018/2019.
In a communication to the House on Tuesday, Representative Willie noted that the ultimate way of improving accountability and transparency at the Legislature is to conduct accurate financial audit on the budgetary performance of the legislature.
Willie indicated that the Legislature is charged with the oversight duties to review and call the attention of ministries and head of agencies relative to their budgetary performances.
“It would also be prudent that these institutions and the general public know the budgetary allocations and performances of the Legislature in order to erase the “dark cloud” over the House of Representatives by the public,” Willie said.
The Grand Bassa County lawmaker reminded his colleagues that the audit is vital, as it would enable plenary to understand how much was allotted for the legislature and how monies allotted were expended.
“This exercise would also enable us to allocate limited resources more effectively, as we all strive to balance our economy for the betterment of us all and the Liberian people,” he added.
Upon receipt of the communication by the House, Montserrado County District #1 Representative Lawrence Morris said for Liberia to move forward, all should be reminded that the country is heavily dependent on international aid and in order to gather more assistance from partners the nation has to exhibit fiscal discipline.
Morris believes that the House of Representatives and the entire government needs to be audited periodically to clean the “mess” that President George Weah is striving to clean.
“We need to help President Weah clean the mess, in order to fight corruption, we got to start with ourselves to set Liberia back on the right trajectory that will attract international partners,” Morris explained.
Also speaking on the matter, River Gee County District #3 Representative, Francis Dopoh, said as a member of the Committee on Ways, Means and Finance he believes that the communication is timely in order to clear doubts simmering in the public.
Dopoh also indicated that it is time that the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) and the GAC come in to ensure an audit of the House so that there can be financial control and to further give the body relevance in the political setting.
Dopoh believes that the body must ensure that it is audited before it can propose or talk about salary reduction.
For his part, Montserrado County District #3 Representative Ceebee Barshall thanked the proponent of the communication and further pledged his support to the call for audit.
Barshall noted that when the House of Representatives is audited, Liberians will have a clear understanding of how much a Legislator earns.
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