PHOTO: Bishop Samuel Quire, Board Chair, Faith and Justice Network
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
A faith-based prodemocracy organization, the Faith and Justice Network has called on Liberian government and people to uphold the independence of auditing and integrity institutions by providing them with the resources and authority needed to carry out their mandate without interference.
The board chairman of the network, Bishop Samuel Quire, said Liberians regardless of political affiliation should view audits as opportunities for growth and improvement rather than as threats and witch hunt.
Addressing a press conference in Monrovia, Bishop Quire said the network believes that the strength of the nation is measured not just by the wealth of its resources; but, by the integrity with which those resources are managed.
According to Bishop Quire, Liberians should embrace audit as opportunity for government institutions to demonstrate their commitment to ethical practices and to earning the trust of the Liberian people.
The Faith and Justice Network Board Chairman emphasized the critical role audit plays in promoting good governance and the effective management of state resources.
“Recent public discussion has revealed a troubling trends of audits being perceived and often mischaracterized as witch hunt,” he said adding: “The FJN joins all non-state actors to dispel this misconception and reinforces the importance of audit in building a transparent, accountable and just society.”
“We believe that it is imperative to clarify the role of audit in fostering good governance and protecting the integrity of state resources because we the people of faith do not see audit as tools of prosecution and political vendetta.”
“They are not instruments of political prosecution and retribution; rather, they are critical mechanism designs to access and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the economy of government’s operations.”
According to him, audit serves as a vital tool purposely to evaluate how public resources are allocated and used ensuring that it benefits all citizens equitably
“Through audit,” he went on, “weaknesses in financial management, procurement processes and service delivery can be identified and ratified; thereby preventing corruption, waste and inefficiency.”
Bishop Quire maintained that therefore, audit should be conducted impartially and professionally in order to provide valuable insight that helps identify areas where public resources are better managed thereby enhancing service delivery and promoting sustainable development.
The Faith and Justice Network said it believes that the strength of any nation is measured not just by the wealth of its resources but with the integrity in which those resources are managed
“In this light,” he noted, “audit should be seen as an opportunity by government institution to demonstrate their commitment to ethical practices to earning the trust of the Liberian people.”
“We are called to view audit as an opportunity for growth and improvement rather than threats.”
Moreover, the Faith and Justice Network is encouraging citizens to view audit as a positive and necessary process that contributes to the over wellbeing of the nation and build a more prosperous Liberia.
Bishop Quire is therefore, calling on people of faith civil servants, officials of government and civil society organizations as well as political parties to support the audit process and for the Liberian government to support and uphold the independence of audit and integrity institutions by providing them with the necessary resources and the authority needed to carry out their mandates without interference and biasness.