The ministry said consistent with its policy of openness, the Government has caused the audit report to be placed online either on the website of the GAC or the Ministry of Information.

The Ministry draws attention to three important issues about this audit.

The first is that the audit was requested by the Government of Liberia to provide assurance on its own monies, private donations and grants from international partners to the National Ebola Trust Fund.

The Government of Liberia will continue to engage in continuous financial and procedural audits of its expenditures and operations to improve the governance system as well as enable its ongoing fight against waste and corruption.

The Information Ministry noted that ongoing programs of continuous audits of public institutions intended to mitigate risks and minimize fraud actually enable its commitment to openness, transparency and accountability to which the Liberian Government is fully committed.

Secondly, the Liberian Government intends to continue to treat this and other audit reports seriously, and that where immediate corrective measures are to be taken based on the findings and recommendations of the audits, government will take them.

The ministry pointed out that either through public hearings at the Legislature, ultimately through prosecution of accused persons in courts of law, or the implementation of systems and controls to mitigate the risk identified in the recommendations, the Liberian Government is determined to institutionalize ongoing programs of probity as well as demonstrated respect, by all, for the trust of the public.
 
Thirdly, the GAC audit did not include donations from international organizations like the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)  other multilateral and bilateral donors whose contribution did not flow through the National Ebola Trust Fund.

“However, let it also be noted that where an audit report indicates that the auditors have yet to see sufficient supporting documentation for expenditure; the auditee may take the documentation to a public hearing by the National Legislature to acquit the deficiency,” the ministry said. 

The Ministry of Information, on behalf of the Government and people of Liberia, extends thanks to the various integrity institutions, including the GAC, for their work which have continued to confirm the overall commitment of the Liberian Government and people to fight corruption and ensure transparency and accountability in the management of national resources even during extreme emergencies. 
LINA