… Says Total Outflows of NTA Fell Significantly by US$1.83 Million in 2022 to US$0.75 Million in 2023
The Bureau of State Enterprise (BSE) has recommended to the Government of Liberia that an organizational review be conducted at the National Transit Authority (NTA) AS A FIRST step to establish its management and internal control weakness.
The BSE believes that the NTA has the potential to generate the revenue required to finance its operations and maintain and expand its fleet of buses.
According to the BSE, the government is currently subsidizing the NTA’s salaries due to its inability to raise the needed revenue to pay staff. The BSE made the recommendation in its Annual Aggregate Performance Report.
The second edition of the Annual Aggregate Performance Report of the BSE was released by the Bureau of State Enterprises on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at an official program held at Mamba Point Hotel.
The presentation on improving governance of SOEs and reducing the fiscal risks, the World Bank and BSE report was released under the theme: “Navigating the path to sustainable State-Owned Enterprises”.
The report covers the activities of the eighteen state-owned entities currently covered by the BSE and provides a comprehensive analysis of their operations and financial activities individually and collectively in line with their statutory responsibilities.
The BSE was established in 1985 to coordinate the activities of all state-owned Enterprises (SOEs). Its coordination of the state enterprise sector involves oversight of SOE’s operations, professional advice to the government on issues relating to the state enterprise sector, regulation of the sector through the recommendation of policy options and the implementation of policies when approved, and providing strategic leadership and direction for SOEs.
However, the BSE indicated that based on the organizational review and what the situational audit will establish, the necessary intervention should be made to correct the issues and strengthen the management and operations of the NTA.
The NTA was established in 2009 following the resuscitation of Liberia’s transit system in 2007 to provide affordable, convenient, and reliable mass services for citizens throughout the length and breadth of Liberia.
The NTA was not just created to facilitate the safe movement of people and goods within and out of the country at affordable cost but also to support national development through poverty reduction, job creation, and stimulating domestic trade and commerce.
The report stated that the NTA was created with the expectation that it would grow into a viable and sustainable public transport outlet for the people of Liberia as well as to establish subsidiaries in other parts of Liberia and encourage the private participation of other transport companies to promote an efficient and effective mass transit system in the Country.
Additionally, the BSE stated that the provision of very effective and efficient public transport by the NTA continues to be elusive as such it has over the years received several buses through donations from friendly governments, but the maintenance of the fleet of buses has been a nightmare for the entity.
“The entity’s capital deficiency to serve and maintain its fleet of buses has been underpinned by allegations of mismanagement and corruption. As a result of its unsound financial performance, the NTA is not effectively providing the desired transport services for Liberians, as well as the social and economic returns,” the report stated.
Meanwhile, on the Transit Authority’s financial performance for the last three years (2019-2023), the report revealed that the total operating inflow reported by the entity for a fiscal year under review was US$0.25 million, 78% down from the US$1.12 million outturn for 2022.
The report noted that the lower inflow reported for the year is mainly due to the partial financial statement submitted by the NTA as such the key driver of its revenue for the FY under review was the inflows from basic transit services, which accounted for about 85% of the total inflows, while inflows from charter and special service accounted for the remaining 15%.
” Subsidy from the GoL to the Transit Authority fell significantly by 59% from US$1.83 million in 2022 to US$0.75 million in 2023. The total inflow of the Transit Authority for the year was about US$1.00 million, 66% down from the inflow for 2022. The total outflows fell substantially by 65% from US$3.06 million in 2022 to US$1.09 million in 2022,” the report stated.
The report added “The compensation of employees was the key expenditure driver for the FY, accounting for about 79% of the total outflows. NTA’s net operating deficit at the end of 2023 stood at US$86,442.45, a 19% decline in the entity’s bottom-line figure when compared to the actual performance reported in 2023”.
The BSE emphasized that information about an entity’s operational achievements is as important as its financial data as such the provision of key information about the operations of NTA is important to explain its business context and help to provide a basis for the fair analysis of its operations.
“For the FY under review, NTA failed to provide any information about the size and condition of its fleet of buses as well as its transit and passenger statistics,” the report mentioned.
Meanwhile, the report noted that NTA’s total financial obligations to staff and vendors at the end of the year amounted to about US$ 1.24 million, and when compared to the previous year, its liabilities rose by 24% from about US$1.00 million in 2023.
