FrontPageAfrica's Right to Publish Audit Reports 

  Saturday, December 27, 2008

    By Samuel H. Perkins

Aloysius Tarte Togba's " Letter of the Day: FPA Crosses Line in Releasing Sensitive Govt. Document" posted on FrontPageafrica, December 21, 2008, is wrong and misleading. From what is written, it seems the writer has no clue of the topic because FrontPageafrica is right under the constitution to publish the Government Audit report.

I will attempt to answer Mr. Togba's opening statement in which the question was asked. “The strength and importance of media in a democracy is well recognized. However, whose interest is sacrificed when freedom of the press is misused by journalists? Is it the interest of journalists, as individuals or the interest of the people who they pledged to serve?” Mr. Togba, journalists are there to serve the people’s interest in a society. They are the Watch Dog of the people. You have all the rights to comment as you please, but kindly comment on issues that you know of and in the position to debate accordingly.

You stated: “Journalist should be cautioned to take a hard line against letting agitation and propaganda persuade them from the true meaning of the very freedom they stand to uphold, and must note that press freedom is not a license for publishing rumors, lies or slander that could create society unrest.” Now, I am totally confused by the above statement. 

It is you that is trying very hard to agitate, spread propaganda and uphold corruption within the land. You are the one that is misleading the public by trying to suppress the truth and nothing but the truth. Are you insinuating that “(The audit reports)” are rumors, lies or slander that could create societal unrests? Mr. Togba, FrontPageafrica's advocating for the people while you are for the government. My impression is that you are being used as a mouth piece for the government to deflect the truth and veer attention from the ("The audit reports"), as you called it. I do not know what position you were promised with the expected reshuffle of the administration, but you are going after it the wrong way.

You also said: “The audit of any government, agency or business entity is considered normal practice geared toward advising stakeholders on the next course of action, thus in this regard, its recommendations or reports are to be viewed only by interested parties. The publishing of those audit reports is an infiltration of government privacy and it is a serious cause for concern that needs urgent redress.”  You are absolutely and equivocally wrong. According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia “Internal auditing is a profession and activity involved in helping organizations achieve their stated objectives. It does this by utilizing a systematic methodology for analyzing business processes, procedures and activities with the goal of highlighting organizational problems and recommending solutions. Professionals called internal auditors are employed by organizations to perform the internal auditing activity.

The scope of internal auditing within an organization is broad and may involve topics such as the efficacy of operations, the reliability of financial reporting, deterring and investigating fraud, safeguarding assets, and compliance with laws and regulations.

Internal auditing frequently involves measuring compliance with the entity's policies and procedures. However, internal auditors are not responsible for the execution of company activities; they advise management and the Board of Directors (or similar oversight body) regarding how to better execute their responsibilities. As a result of their broad scope of involvement, internal auditors may have a variety of higher educational and professional backgrounds.” 

The government audit is for the people, the taxpayers and stakeholders, therefore the audit report is for the people to see, digest and discuss. On the other hand, a company’s audit is for the Board of Directors, Shareholders, and whomever it may concern. Are you saying that the Liberian people are not interested parties to the Audit Reports? The audit reports are not an infiltration of government privacy as you put it, rather a public document that can be viewed by any citizen or interested parties that are affected by said documents. Again, we the people are the shareholders in Liberia's stocks. The only serious cause for concern that needs urgent redress as you put it is the refusal or delay in the government making the Audit Reports available to the public by publishing it.

You stated that “This increased role FrontPageAfrica has attached to itself has not only brought its accountability and professionalism in reportage questionable but has left followers to be concerned about its direction. It should be noted that in any civil society no right to freedom, howsoever invaluable it might be, can be considered absolute, unlimited, or unqualified in all circumstances.”  I doubt if you know or comprehend the roles and duty of Journalists. They are the ears, eyes and nose of the public for which they serve. They risked their lives, well being and family to serve us restlessly; for that we have to be very grateful for their services to us, the public. 

FrontPageAfrica was in her rights to inform the public of said Audit Reports. She could have used the Freedom of Information Act, or take the government to court if the government had refused to present the documents inquired. The only time the government has the rights to keep certain document or information from the public is when she deems the documents or information ‘CLASSIFIED’. The government has to prove in court the reason or reasons why said document has been classified. The government has the right to classify certain document or information if there are security risks or bridge if made public. 

No knowledgeable person or persons will question FrontPageAfrica's accountability and professionalism in reporting, because she and other media institutions has taking the lead in advocating to rid the nation and government of corruption, and making all of government accountable. If being in the forefront in the war against corruption is a crime then, FrontPageAfrica and others are guilty as charged. Smearing hard-working journalists for one's own selfish political gains are immoral and dangerous. I have in the past accused FrontPageAfrica of not producing facts to support their stories. Now they are producing supporting documents to support their stories.                                           

You also wrote: “Therefore, freedom of the media, like any other freedom recognized under the constitution has to be exercised within reasonable boundaries." I also want to suggest that you revisit the constitution, because nowhere does it states that freedom of the press means only government-approved information should be made available to the public for viewing. Yes, I do agree with you that the media should publish the truth and only the truth. However, perception has it that the audit reports are truthful to the best of the public knowledge; therefore, to FrontPageAfrica and all media entity that are on board to bring the truth to light and rid Liberia of corruption, I tip my hat to you and say thank you, and keep on the good work. These detractors posing as "Constitutional Gurus" will never succeed, however, because of corruption and the abuse of power, we had 14 years of unrests that killed a quarter of the population. We should learn from the past and better the future.

In closing, I will like to remind Liberians that the president is not Liberia. The president should not be the judge and jury of the nation’s corruption drama. Where is the Judiciary branch of government, Where is the Attorney General of the Land, Where are the States Prosecutors, and where are the Legislatures? According to the Liberian Constitution, The Judiciary Branch of Government is responsible for keeping the law of the land. The Attorney General is the one entrusted to investigate and prosecute allege crimes and misdeeds in the land, and the Attorney General is the one that should name a special prosecutor to investigate the misdeeds of public servants. 

Thanks for affording me the forum to express my views. Long live the Media, the Nation and the Leadership of Liberia.

Samuel H. Perkins, lives in Yonkers, New York.