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Auditing
in the court of public opinion
Tuesday, June
26, 2007
By Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh
Auditor John Morlu is trying to do exactly what
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf should have done after
she came to power a year ago, except that it took an
international agreement mandated by the Governance
Economic and Management Assistance Program, (GEMAP) to
audit the administration of a president who fell short
of her promise to tackle corruption only to watch her
administration buried in kudzu before our eyes.
Had Ms. Sirleaf called for an independent audit
of her government, she would have preempted her
critics before they said the first word, and the
Europeans probably would have scrapped any call for an
audit in the first place.
Pres. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Auditor John Morlu
Knowing how Liberian presidents are accountable
to no one but themselves and are known to take over
the public’s money to conduct personal matters, an
audit of this kind, which is needed perhaps would have
changed that trend.
However, it is one of those things people will
find hard to believe about corruption being rampant in
the Johnson-Sirleaf administration even if it is
believable, because of the person in the picture – a
smart president with savvy public relations skills who made
a name for herself by separating herself from her
predecessors, and has muted her critics by cleverly
portraying a squeaky clean, saint-like image of a
capable leader in full control and ready to clamp down
on corruption by firing those found guilty in a court
of law.
So reports out of Liberia that auditor John
Morlu is complaining publicly about zero cooperation
from the government, which has hampered his ability to
do his job, contradicts any talk about transparency
and accountability we’ve heard all along about the
“Iron” lady’s desire to transform Liberia.
That frustration led Morlu to go the
non-diplomatic route by doing the unthinkable when he
went public with his verbal attacks or public audit
and was quoted as referring to the Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf administration as “three times more corrupt
than that of the previous transitional government of
Gyude Bryant.”
I don’t know about that, and I am unsure how
the auditor reached such a blistering conclusion,
since obstruction and non-cooperation from the
government hindered his ability to carry out his
duties.
However, if this is so true that the
administration made it difficult for him to do his
job, how did the auditor go from accusing the
government publicly of obstructionism to the
government being three times more corrupt than that of
the previous transitional government of Gyude Bryant,
because I have not seen an official and final report from him
that incriminates or indicts anyone, except for what I
have heard or read from news reports.
While this unfortunate drama is capable of
exposing the president’s leadership flaws (if it
hasn’t done so by now), it could also paint Morlu as
brash, undiplomatic, a possible partisan auditor, and
a showboat who certainly prefers auditing in the court
of public opinion than quietly finding a resolution to
this issue by referring the matter to GEMAC to work
out a solution and ascertaining why the
administration refuses to grant him access to the
information he needs to do his job.
I am sure such public ridicule of the president
did not sit well with her administration, especially
when it is being compared to the corrupt and
despicable Bryant who came from nowhere to lead a
transitional government into near bankruptcy, due to
the in-your-face and shameless stealing of public
funds that took place on his watch at a time when
hungry and battered Liberians were displaced in camps desperately seeking refuge wherever the
generosity of others would take them.
My defense of this president does not mean her
administration is beyond corruption. And I am not a
fan of her arrogance, either, and can cite 101 reasons
why I am at odd with the Johnson-Sirleaf
administration.
Her unilateral leadership style of doing things
her way instead of the people’s way, spells
resentment and has given ample ammunitions to some of
us her frequent critics who sees a return of the
‘almighty’ presidency that cares very little about
public opinion.
Ms. Sirleaf has been calculative in
resuscitating what we all know as the powerful
presidency, and has capitalized successfully on the
perception of a total lack of a credible opposition,
has capitalized on the absence of an effective
opposition and an effective oversight committee
capable of applying some brakes to her runaway
policies of excessive foreign travels and spending.
The president’s insatiable obsession with
playing foreign minister, trade ambassador and even
commerce minister since she came into office, has led
her on whirlwind tours of capitals worldwide, always
accompanied by a delegation of unknown number of
guests traveling at government’s expense with per
diems at their disposal.
Other than the symbolic gesture of returning a
portion of her unused per diem to the national
treasure in 2006, Pres. Sirleaf has been able to
successfully elude any kind of scrutiny concerning her
many foreign trips, has eluded scrutiny about the
funds and gifts received from those international
travels; and has eluded scrutiny about the hiring of
unqualified individuals and criminals in her administration without a thorough
background check, are some of the reasons I am at odd
with her administration.
To quiet down the criticism of the president's
foreign travels, the Executive Mansion posted on its
web site a 2007 “costs
vs. benefits analysis", which was also posted on
this Web site, revealed the president took 13
trips from Jan 12-14 2007 to April 30, 2007, with an
estimated cost of $641,373 to the Liberian government
and people, and $115,049,740, according to the
Liberian government, is the total benefits derived
from (the president’s) foreign travels in 2007.
This is the official version of the
administration’s own report concerning its many
foreign travels including money spent and gained,
which would have been credible had an independent
auditor taken over every available paper work relating
to the issue and conducted an independent audit for
the Liberian people to know what is really happening
from their own perspective, and not from the lenses of
the Executive Mansion.
Morlu's style of going public with his
displeasure in such a provocative way instead of
working quietly behind the scene to find a solution to
the problem, was cheered by many and a turned-off for
others, because it made him a part of the story, it
shines the light on him in a polarizing way and
presents him as not being neutral.
This
is not a popularity contest between the Johnson-Sirleaf
administration and John Morlu, but supposed to be a
professional attempt to unravel alleged official
malfeasance and financial impropriety in government.
Because he came on too strong on the administration,
which will definitely hinder progress, I am afraid the
administration will even trust or believe any negative
conclusion Morlu reaches in the future.
As
a result of this bad start, I will suggest that John
Morlu be replaced by a less confrontational auditor whose
actions will speak louder than his words. In the
interest of the nation and the Liberian people,
Auditor John Morlu must go.
What became an excellent idea to audit and possibly
put the nation's finances in order, unfortunately,
became a public spectacle. This is a bad start, and
the Liberian people are the victims once again.
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