MONROVIA, LIBERIA – The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) is facing heightened scrutiny as its Executive Director, Ansu V.S. Dulleh, stands accused of submitting two conflicting 2024 budget performance reports, one to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) and another to the Liberian Senate. The discrepancies have sparked allegations of financial mismanagement and raised concerns about the agency’s internal operations.
At the heart of the controversy are inconsistencies between the two reports. The MFDP version, accessible under No. 143 on the ministry’s website, credits the NDMA with achievements such as updating and validating the multi-hazard contingency plan, developing a national risk reduction strategy, and conducting a risk assessment on coastal erosion in Sinoe County. However, critics argue that many of these activities were completed under Dulleh’s predecessor, Henry O. Williams, during the George Weah administration.
Documents reveal that the multi-hazard contingency plan was last updated in 2021, while the national risk reduction and resilience strategy was finalized in 2020, years before Dulleh’s leadership. Similarly, the national disaster database was reportedly established in 2019, casting doubt on Dulleh’s claims of achieving these milestones in 2024.
Moreover, there are unanswered questions regarding the reported coastal erosion risk assessment in Sinoe County. No official documentation or list of participants has been provided, leading to suspicions that this activity may not have occurred under Dulleh’s tenure.
The inconsistencies extend beyond the MFDP report. The budget breakdown submitted to the Senate offers a different narrative of the agency’s expenditures. According to that document, the NDMA received USD $1,386,937.04 in 2024, with spending allocated as follows: USD $562,529.99 for employee compensation, USD $714,217.05 for goods and services, and USD $110,190 for capital items.
Among the most controversial expenditures is the purchase of two 17-seater buses for USD $81,000, a price that has raised eyebrows, especially given reports that the vehicles were 2025 models with only 662 kilometers on the odometer. Lawmakers are now demanding the invoice and procurement records to verify these purchases.
The conflicting reports have triggered a formal request from Senator Crayton O. Duncan, Vice Chairman of the Senate’s Ways, Means, Finance and Budget Committee, to summon Dulleh and his two deputies, Louise K.D. Morris for Operations and Korto Diamond Saygai-Ballah for Administration. In a letter dated March 3, 2025, addressed to Senate Pro Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, Duncan accused Dulleh of submitting false reports and attempting to shift blame onto the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.
Duncan’s letter highlights a discrepancy in the NDMA’s financial records. Dulleh reported receiving USD $1,417,994.00 and spending USD $1,389,937.04, leaving a balance of USD $58,905.38. However, Duncan contends that these figures do not align with official records, further deepening concerns of potential financial mismanagement.
The letter also criticizes the agency’s lack of transparency regarding disaster relief supplies. Duncan has demanded a full inventory of materials, including the remaining Saudi-donated rice, relief items from the River Cess mine collapse, and contributions from the Chinese embassy and CEMENCO. Additionally, he called for an audit of supplies procured after the recast budget and requested an account of items furnished by international partners like UNDP and the Japanese government, which reportedly equipped the NDMA’s National Early Warning and Emergency Operations Center between 2018 and 2021.
Lawmakers are also questioning the methodology used to develop Liberia’s disaster management policy. Despite Dulleh’s claims that the policy was completed under his administration, the initiative was largely supported by international agencies, including the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Senators are now demanding a breakdown of costs and an explanation of the NDMA’s role in the project.
Senator Duncan has urged his colleagues to place Dulleh and his deputies under oath when they appear before the Senate. He also recommended that the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) and the General Auditing Commission (GAC) launch a full investigation and report their findings to the Senate.
