Finance Minister, Samuel Tweah has warned that no government minister would be allowed to take their pay without submitting their financial reports during the accounting period.
He cautioned that the Ministry of Finance under his watch as Minister would no longer tolerate any form of financial misconduct from its ministers, and thereby vowed to hold the salaries of Ministers who will renege on making their financial report.
The Minister spoke Monday, May 5, 2023 when the Liberian government and the European Union (EU) signed four new support programmes worth 80 million euros equivalent to US$88million, which kick-start the new phase of EU-Liberia development partnership from 2021 to 2025, for which a total of 191 million euros / US$220 million have been earmarked.
According to Minister Tweah, the Public Financial Management (PFM) Law gives him the authority to hold back salaries of Government officials who refused to make financial report on allotments received from the National budget.
Minister Tweah also revealed that internal auditors have found it difficult to audit the books of Ministries and Agencies due to the lack of reports on their spending and as such, the need for these heads government to submit its financial report cannot be overemphasized.
He maintained, “So, going forward, all ministers and heads of Government institutions will be obligated to make their reports to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning before receiving salaries for the ensuing month.”
“Because failure of ministers to submit their financial reports on time has become a major concern for the government, and they are required to submit their financial reports on a monthly basis, but some of them have failed to do so.
The Minister explained that financial reports are important because they help the government to track the performance of various ministries and agencies as well as also helps them to monitor the flow of funds and ensure that they are being used in the right way.
Minister Tweah also warned that any minister who fails to submit their financial report on time would face serious consequences, adding they would not be allowed to take their pay until they have submitted their financial report.
This, he further indicated is intended to is to ensure that ministers take their financial reporting responsibilities seriously and comply with the rules, and added that he hoped that his colleagues will abide by the decision to ensure that the country’s economy is on the right path.