Superintendent Norris Reveals, Writes CBL Authorities, Amid Citizens’ Call For Investigation
By J. Peter S. Dennis, dennisrealone@gmail.com
GBARNGA, Liberia: Following the lifting of moratorium on the accounts of Bong County, an instant Income Statement from the Central Bank of Liberia for the period of June 19, 2024, Superintendent Hawa Loleya Norris has revealed.
She said that the net balance of the County’s accounts stands at one million, six hundred twelve thousand, nine hundred ten United States Dollars, seventy cents ($1,612,910.70 USD).
The amount is a combination of the USD and Liberian Dollars accounts at the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL).
Superintendent Hawa L. Norris
According to the instant statement, as received by www.newspublictrust.com, the USD account has a total balance of $891,270.00 United States Dollars, while the balance of the Liberian Dollars stands at LRD $137,970,736.70.
14 accounts clarity
For the 14 operational accounts that were discovered at Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) following their induction on May 14, 2024, Madam Norris discovered that the USD component has a total balance of four thousand, seventy six dollars, seventy-two cents (US$4,076.72), while the LD balance is amounted to Eight hundred forty four thousand, four hundred thirty nine dollars, twenty five cents (L$844,439.25).
Only two accounts are active while the others are inactive at the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI).
The total per LBDI and CBL is $895,346.72 USD, with LRD $138,815,175.95 as of June 19 2024.
Speaking to the media over the weekend in Gbarnga, the Bong County Superintendent disclosed that her leadership has officially written authority of CBL to provide full clarity on all financial transactions with these accounts from the period under review.
Also addressing Journalists was Bong County’s Financial Officer, Silas K. Tikpa who revealed that: “Only two accounts are active or have money in them including the Bong County Administration operation and Development funds accounts. For others, they are inactive.”
It can be recalled that early August of 2021, members of the House of Representatives unanimously voted in acceptance of a recommendation to place a moratorium on Bong County’s accounts and further requested for an audit.
The decision to impose a moratorium on the accounts of the County came following a letter from Bong County District #3, Josiah Marvin Cole, seeking the indulgence of his colleagues to invite former internal Affairs Minister, Varney Sirleaf, and Madam Esther Walker, the County’s former Superintendent to appear before that August body and explain the alleged misappropriation of over 80,000 USD from the County’s coffers.
Annually, various concession companies operating in Bong County remit to the county’s account.
Bong County receives US$200,000 from the Liberian government, US$1.75million from China Union, US$500,000 from ArcelorMittal and US$12,000 from MNG Gold.
Money received in different account?
According to a New Dawn Newspaper report, former Bong County Superintendent Esther Walker admitted the receipt of US $200,000 from the National Government for development purposes in early February 2023 to complete unfinished projects by the local leadership of the County.
Walker narrated that the Money was sent to her office account as a result of the current moratorium imposed by the Supreme Court of Liberia on the County’s account.
“Consultations for the usage of the 200,000 United States Dollars along with other funding from concessioners are ongoing and rehabilitation works of unfinished projects across the County would shortly commence” Former Superintendent Esther Walker earlier told journalists in the county.
She named the rehabilitation of clinics, midwifery homes and schools as some of the projects that would greatly benefit from the 200,000-funding received from the government.
Formers leaders misapply $2.2 millions
According to three (3) leading Civil Society Organizations report, officials of Bong County misappropriated over US$2 million of the county’s social development funds (CSDF) between 2018 and 2020.
The report unearthed the project management committee (PMC) awarded contracts without competitive bidding, allotment of funds to contractors without proper documentation, huge financial discrepancies, overstated expenses, granting of multiple projects to individual companies, lack of project implementation, poor supervision and monitoring, among other violations.
The Bong Accountability Project report was produced by the Media and Civic Education Rural Liberia (MACE-Rural Liberia), Foundation for International Dignity (FIND), and the Development Education Leadership Training in Action Human Rights Foundation (DELTA-HRF), civil society organizations working to promote accountability and development. Funding for the report was provided by ForumCiv, a Swedish nongovernmental organization working with 170 civil society and human rights organizations across the world.
CSDF is a combination of funds from the National Budget and fees paid by concession companies meant to develop counties where natural resources like iron ore, gold, diamond, are being extracted. In March 2020, the Liberian House of Representatives amended the Public Financial Management Act, which calls for greater accountability and transparency in the administering of the CSDF. Penalties range from administrative to criminal.
Expenditure from 2018 to 2024
Under the Bong County Development fund from January 2018 to June 19, 2024, the county generated $1,704,610 USD and expended $1,704,060.39 thus leaving a balance of $549.61 USD; while the LRD income per bank at the same LBDI is $16,412,340.53 with an expenditure per bank of $16,412,205.62 thus leaving an ending balance of Liberian Dollars 134.91.
For accounts at the Central Bank of Liberia as of June 19, 2024, the USD account has a total balance of $891,270.00 United States Dollars with zero expenditure, while the balance of the Liberian Dollars stands at LRD $137,970,736.70 with zero expenditure.
The operational accounts for Bong County Administration under the period of review at the LBDI, its income per bank in USD stood at $344,748.05 with an expenditure of $341,220.94 this leaving a bank balance of $3,527.11 USD. For the income per bank in LRD, $8,086,153.94 with $7,241,849.60 was recorded. The bank ending balance is $844,304.34.
Current Liabilities
Bong County has total liabilities of nearly nine hundred thousand United States Dollars that were incurred under the periods of 2012 to 2024.
Under the $895,090.75 USD debt, the Bong County administrators explained that the county owes a total of two hundred sevent- nine thousand five hundred forty two dollars and forty six cents ($279,542.46USD) for projects liability per resolution from 2012 to 2018; the county also owes the former Project Management Committee (PMC) staff (Honorarium arrears) from 2014-2018 a sum of $13,080.00 USD.
In a press conference Monday, the leadership stated that there’s an arrear of $158,833.75 USD for allotment to institutions from the November 11, 2019 Council Sitting, and additional projects allotment per resolution for the November 11, 2019 Council Sitting a sum of $302,302.95 USD.
Currently, both Superintendent Hawa Loleyah Norris and Mr. Silas K. Tokpa say, the county is indebted to the current PMC (Honorarium arrears from November 12, 2018 to March 31, 2024) a sum of $136,332.00 USD.
The county also credited five thousand United States Dollars from Mr. Ansu Sesay, CEO of the Sesay Brothers Inc. to augment the funds for the recent Local government induction on May 14, 2024.
The program, Superintendent Hawa Norris says cost nearly $18 thousand United States Dollars. “The remaining money was lobbied for”.
Citizens’ reaction
Many residents of the county including the Civil Society have called for more investigation to unearth the circumstances leading to the “little funds” in the county’s account since the imposition of the Moratorium.
The Bong County residents believed, more money should have been in the county’s Central Bank of Liberia’s account considering the remittances from various concession companies operating in the county.
They think “there were dubious acts” under the immediate past leadership, thus calling for audits.