– Says it carried on arbitrary salary increases
By: Jerromie S. Walters
A General Auditing Commission’s Compliance Audit report of the National Civil Servants Payroll for the Period January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2021, has shown a huge amount of irregularities at the Ministry of Internal Affairs through an arbitrarily increased salary of US$300 each month, totaling US$1,800.00, and also an arbitrarily increased salary of LR$10,000 for five months, August to December 2021, totaling LR$50,000.00.
“During the audit, we observed irregular payroll transactions on the payroll of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) for the months of July to December 2021 for an employee who banks at GN Bank.”
It continues, “Net salaries for the six months, July to December 2021, were arbitrarily increased by US$300 each month, totaling US$1,800.00, and also arbitrarily increased by LR$10,000 for the five months, August to December 2021, totaling LR$50,000.00.”
Similarly, the GAC report established that another employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who banks at GT Bank’s net salaries for the month of December 2021 were increased arbitrarily by US$100.00 and LR$5,000.00, respectively.
Totaling the actual amount controversially transacted on the payroll of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it will amount to UD$1,900.00 and LRD$55,000.00.
In its response to the report, the MIA maintained that irregular salaries may not be attributable to arbitrary increments but can be obviously attributed to wrongful copying and pasting on the bank’s listing.
“These errors can be fully minimized or eliminated once the GoL disbursement platform is fully automated and linked with commercial banks’ banking software.”
“We currently have UBA and Ecobank.” “In addition to automating the disbursement platform, periodic reconciliation as recommended by the GAC will also minimize unauthorized variances between ATAP’s Net Pay and the disbursement listing sent to banks.”
Following the audit’s findings, the GAC believes that salaries may have been discretionarily increased above approved pay-grade amounts, leading to the misapplication and misappropriation of government funds.
Additionally, the Commission is insinuating that salaries may have been paid fraudulently to illegitimate (ghost) persons.
However, the GAC is recommending that the Ministry of Internal Affairs account for a discretionary increase in the net salaries of personnel.mentioned above and provide an explanation for the inclusion of names on bank advice that were not originally on the ATAPS payrolls.
Moreover, the General Auditing Commission’s Compliance Audit report of the National Civil Servants Payroll for the Period January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2021, has also shown huge regularities in several other government’s ministries and agencies, concisely with about three thousand Nine Hundred Seventy (3,970) employees representing 5.9% of civil servants across 80 ministries and agencies that earned above the harmonized pay-grade expected salaries.
The GAC audit also revealed that nine thousand two hundred eighty-seven (9,287) employees represented 13.7% of employees.Records on the Alternative Temporary Automated Payroll Systems (ATAPS) were not available for physical verification.
“Three thousand nine hundred seventy (3,970) employees, representing 5.9% of civil servants across 80 ministries and agencies, earned above the harmonized pay-grade expected salaries.” The total monthly difference in excess salary payments amounted to US$581,439,15.
Also, thirty-two thousand Seven Hundred Fifty-Nine (32,759) employees representing 48.7% of civil servants across 90 entities of government earned below the harmonized pay-grade expectedsalaries.
“The total monthly difference was US$5,710,026.97.”Twenty-five thousand one hundred sixty-two (25,162) employees, representing 37.4% of civil servants in government across 97 ministries and agencies, did not have pay grades.
Also, sixty-six thousand, six hundred ninety-one (66,691) records, constituting 99.1% of the payroll data on ATAPS from across 66 entities, were found to contain exceptions or irregularities.
“There were net variances amounting to USD54, 317.21, and LRD2, 854,559.52 between the net payroll per amount in ATAPS and bank payment advice across two ministries for the months of July 2021 to December 2021.”During the audit, the GAC observed that the total number of employees of the Government of Liberia recorded in the ATAPS database totaled 67,299 (sixty-seven thousand, two hundred, and nine).ninety-nine) from across 103 entities.
However, the outcome of the physical verification revealed that a total of 9,287 (nine thousand two hundred eighty-seven) employees, representing 13.8% of the total, did not turn out for the head count exercise and therefore were not physically verified.
Furthermore, the GAC confirmed that it received communications from heads of ministries and agencies providing an official excuse of absence for a total of 81 (eighty-one) employees from 13 (thirteen) entities who did not turn out for the physical verification or head count exercise due to various reasons.
With this, the Commission believes that illegitimate individuals or personnel may be paid for services not performed or payments may be made to ghost employees, thereby leading to fraud, waste, and abuse.misappropriation
With detailed findings on the salary harmonization, the GAC audit report reveals that it observed that the pay-grade harmonization initiative of theThe government was not comprehensively implemented across all entities, which resulted in employees earning below and/or above the established pay grades while there were no pay grades established for other employees.
“Failure to ensure the harmonized pay grade is comprehensively and consistently applied across all institutions of government may lead to discretionary determination of salary, which may lead to misappropriation and misapplication of government funds,” the GAC advised.
