MONROVIA – The pick of former General Auditing Commission (GAC) Auditor General, John S. Morlu, II, as Consultant to Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai’s Unity Party Rescue Campaign Committee may lead to a much bigger task should the Unity Party win the October 10, 2023 presidential election, Smart News Liberia has reliably gathered.
Morlu may be assigned the responsibility of leading a team of anti-corruption individuals to retrieve stolen monies and ill-gotten wealth from officials of President George Weah’s Coalition for Democratic Change-led government, according to multiple sources within the camp of the “Rescue Mission.”
Through an investigation launched by the nation’s anti-graft agency, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), the Weah administration has been linked to allegations of improper behavior with some officials since taking office in 2017.
However, if an opposition party defeats the CDC government in the October presidential election, recovering stolen monies and ill-gotten wealth from Weah’s officials, a wish of many Liberians, will be difficult.
The nation’s largest opposition party, the former ruling Unity Party, has announced through its standard bearer, Joseph Boakai, that it will appoint renowned anti-corruption czars and fully empower them to carry out the crucial task of recovering stolen money and ill-gotten property from Weah regime officials.
With previous governments, the fight against corruption has always been difficult. Anti-corruption organizations, particularly the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), have urged President Weah to take the fight against corruption seriously by bringing legal action against officials who are suspected of being complicit in it.
Recently, in a report titled: “Do Not Promote and Nurture Corruption; Hold Officials Accountable and Give Impetus to Anti-Corruption Efforts,” CENTAL revealed that there has been a disproportionate increase in corruption in Liberia since 2022.
In its report, among others, CENTAL states that since the dissemination of its last report in January of 2023, from results of the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2022, there has been a further decline in Liberia’s score on the Index from 29 in 2021 to 26 in 2022, with an unfortunate 15-point decline since the score of 41 in 2012.
Howbeit, the UP standard bearer in a statement Wednesday, vowed to have a team with unmatched expertise and track record, who he said would be well-equipped to deliver results, “recover stolen funds and ill-gotten wealth” particularly from officials of the Weah-led government.
John Morlu, with high-level anti-graft pedigree, who is an acclaimed expert in combating corruption, coupled with his deep understanding of financial management, is no doubt a priceless asset to the UP’s corruption fight and asset recovery policy should the former ruling party reclaim state power following the October presidential election.
The UP standard bearer making the announcement Tuesday, July 11, 2023, of Morlu joining the former ruling party’s “Rescue Mission” Campaign fundraising efforts said, Morlu will provide financial management insights as a Consultant to the Campaign Committee.
“We are grateful to have Mr. Morlu on this crucial journey towards a more prosperous Liberia,” Ambassador Boakai stated.
Responding immediately to his preferment, former AG Morlu observed that he saw his appointment as one intended for him to build and manage the fundraising technology solution for the Joe Boakai campaign, adding that therefore, every Liberian and all other persons who believe in a better Liberia should join the “Rescue Mission” campaign and donate their resources and time, confident that their money and effort would be in good hands and safe.
Who is Mr. Morlu
With over 20 plus years of technical and professional qualifications, Morlu is experienced in auditing, financial management, accounting and consultancy.
Under an international agreement, he was directly contracted by the European Union (EU) to serve as Auditor General for the Government of Liberia, a post in which he built the first independent external audit agency for the Government of Liberia.
During his tenure as Auditor General, Morlu produced 67 audit reports, including 27 forensic audits, 6 operational and system audits, and 28 financial statement audits prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
Morlu adopted and conducted audits in accordance with the International Standards of Supreme Institutions (ISSA), and International Standards on Auditing (ISA), prescribed by INTOSAI and IFAC, respectively.
Boakai should start with PYJ & J.Koung. The Americans (with all their INVESTIGATIVE sophistication) accused PYJ of Stealing Millions from Liberia. Maybe Boakai should start by NOT working with PYJ n demanding an Investigation into the US allegations against PYJ. But instead of investigation, Boakai is working with PYJ n hope to form a coalition government with PYJ. Does that sound like anybody will seriously fight corruption? Then, of course there’s Boakai VP, J. Koung. PYJ is captured on tape accusing J.Koung of being one of the ring leaders at the Legislature, taking a CUT (10%) in every budgetary allocation. Through that means J.Koung is now a rich man, courtesy of the Liberian taxpayers. J.Koung is also accused in CENTAL Report of being implicated in budget fraud to the tune of USD1 million dollars. If Boakai is serious, he should start from there? Shouldn’t he be asking for the investigation of J.Koung for budget fraud and conflict of interest? Of course, there is Brownie Samukai, Boakai’s right hand man and a convicted criminal, who stole USD1+ m from the AFL soldiers, and was given 150 years to pay back the money. How about BJ Samukai paying back the AFL money ASAP. If Boakai is serious about fighting corruption, why is he working hand-in-hand with a convicted criminal, Brownie Samukai? Hahahah, Liberia. The fun never ceases. This election Liberians have just one last chance to rescue their country from the crooked politician. Think Liberia; Love Liberia; Just say NO to SQUANDER-1 & SQUANDER-2.
Between Jan 2012 – Dec 2017, the Office of the VP-Liberia received at least US$12.4m. There is NO public record of any annual performance report(s), 2012 – 2017, and certainly NO audited financial statements of the Office of the VP-Lib. With no [audit] reports in 6 years, no one knows what exactly this money was used for, and what impact it had. But for now, politics is in full swing & “Rescue-1” has promised to audit the CDC gov’t. . This thing is getting too funny. This too is Liberia!