MONROVIA – In a scathing resignation letter dated June 10, 2024, Atty. Emmett Kaye, former Head of the Budget Committee at the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, stepped down, accusing the Ministry’s leadership of authorizing illegal financial activities and ignoring key recommendations.
Addressing his resignation letter to Deputy Minister for Administration Fredrick S. Cooper, with copies sent to Minister Gbeme Horace-Kollie and other senior officials, Kaye condemned the Ministry’s handling of funds allocated to the SGBV (Sexual and Gender-Based Violence) Road Map project. His decision followed months of internal communication where he raised concerns about financial mismanagement, particularly surrounding the utilization of $40,000 from the Road Map funds. Despite his repeated requests for a detailed expenditure report, Kaye claims the Ministry approved further questionable transactions without oversight.
“I refer to my memoranda dated April 2, April 16, May 3, and May 6, 2024, addressed to Financial Comptroller Moses Kermu, requesting the SGBV Road Map 40K expenditure report. Despite discussing these communications with you, the Comptroller refused to provide the requested report, instead moving ahead with new disbursements,” Kaye wrote in his letter.
He criticized the Ministry’s unilateral spending of $40,000 without consulting the Taskforce Ministries and Agencies involved in the project, including the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Internal Affairs, among others. This money, he argued, was supposed to follow strict guidelines established in the Anti-SGBV Road Map Project Document.
Kaye emphasized that his warnings went unheeded, highlighting one instance where Deputy Minister Cooper endorsed a new $60,000 disbursement despite the lack of an expenditure report for the previous tranche. He revealed that the funds were being misused for “Arrears to Garages,” with $6,888 allocated after another $5,000 had already been spent on the same arrears without any transparency.
“I reminded you that it will be considered misapplication of funds, which is a crime,” Kaye stated, pointing out the parallels between this case and that of former Defense Minister Brownie Samukai, who was convicted of misappropriating AFL Provident Fund money.
Kaye’s resignation further alleges that Cooper personally reimbursed himself $184 from the SGBV Road Map funds, a move Kaye called a “flagrant disregard” for Liberia’s financial laws. In light of the Ministry’s failure to account for previous disbursements, he advised that the General Auditing Commission (GAC) be invited to audit the funds, a recommendation that was also ignored.
Kaye closed his letter with a final rebuke: “Based on the way you have unilaterally handled this matter without regard to advice from me as Head of the Budget Committee but instead have approved questionable and illegal financial transactions, I herewith tender my resignation.”
His resignation, which reflects growing concerns over financial accountability within key government ministries, has raised alarms over the Ministry’s adherence to public finance laws, including the Public Financial Management (PFM) Law and Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC) Law. Kaye’s departure comes amid mounting scrutiny of the Ministry’s financial practices, particularly in relation to crucial programs like the Anti-SGBV Road Map project.
With Liberia already facing a host of challenges in curbing gender-based violence, the alleged financial mismanagement threatens to derail key initiatives aimed at protecting vulnerable populations. The Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection has yet to publicly respond to the allegations outlined in Kaye’s resignation letter.
Kaye’s bold move sends a strong message about the ongoing issues of transparency and accountability in Liberia’s public sector, calling into question the government’s commitment to financial integrity.
