The United Nations has threatened to withhold essential development support to the Liberian government due to the CDC government’s failure to provide timely and accurate reports on UN-funded programs, a letter from the UN Resident Coordinator in Liberia says.
“Several [UN] agencies have experienced challenges in getting timely and accurate reports from their Government counterparts, thereby delaying implementation of essential services and advisory support to the people of Liberia,” according to a letter to the Liberian Minister of State, Nathaniel McGill dated April 25, 2019, UN Resident Coordinator, Yacoub El Hillo.
The UNDP Resident Coordinator said the UN was committed to working with the Liberian Government in achieving the Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development.
He however, noted that the UN adheres strictly to its fiduciary standards to safeguard UN funds against misuse and integrity risks.
“For implementing partners to receive cash advance, they must be micro assessed to ensure they have good financial management capacity (i.e. accounting, procurement, reporting, internal controls, etc.) and a system for recording annual transactions and appropriate financial documentation,” the UN envoy said in his letter to the Liberian Minister of State.
The UN is warning Liberian authorities of the possibility of reverting to the Direct Implementation Modality.
Amidst the prevailing situation, the UN Agencies, Fund and Programmes may discontinue and revert to Direct Implementation Modality to avoid risk of delay in programme implementation, the UN envoy warned.
This is in the extreme where cash advance modality is not being used correctly by implanting partners.
The Liberian government has been tight lipped since the communication surfaced.