–Comptroller James Flees To Ghana
In the wake of all the financial discrepancies being uncovered at the Monrovia City Corporation, investigators are beginning to wonder about the role of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), and the impact of their presence in various ministries and agencies.
The IAA has had a focal person at the MCC for a very long time, but appears to have little or no impact on the image and integrity of the institution, with several financial crimes being committed while the IAA does nothing.
The Hot Pepper’s investigation has revealed that the entire Accounting Department of the MCC has been a mess, and ran by individuals who put self-interest above national interest, while the IAA remains mute on these financial crimes.
The Internal Audit Agency (IAA) is responsible to ensure transparency, accountability, and effective governance by conducting internal audits to safeguard public resources, promote responsible use of taxpayers’ money, and enhancing public trust in various ministries and agencies.
It is responsible to ensure the integrity of government operations by detecting and preventing fraud, financial malpractice, and other financial crimes, conduct risk-based audits, identify and mitigate risks in various government operations, and report suspected money laundering, terrorist financing, or other financial crimes.
However, if it was not the stroke of luck by the MCC Director of Revenue, Rachel Harris, to observe some inconsistencies on deposit slips of businesses that paid money into MCC’s account, the criminal syndicate would have continued for the longest without a trace.
The IAA stands accused of either being a part of the syndicate or is not performing its role at the MCC, and therefore needs to step up.
When he took over the MCC in 2024, the City Mayor, John Ciafa, informed the public that the MCC was stranded and lacked logistics, with only one tricycle in operation while eleven trucks were broken down. The MCC staff then stood at 1,485, with about 200 casual workers who swept the streets daily, but were dropped off the GOL payroll because they were classified as “consultants”. There was also a reported outstanding salaries and wages around US$548,000.
In addition, transfer stations where waste was temporarily kept were full to bottom with waste which had not been moved for reportedly over 7 months. The Monrovia City Police was also allegedly filled with militants loyal to the former mayor, Jefferson Koijee, making the institution very complicated to run, amidst administrative laws that prohibit the dismissals of civil servants.
However, observers are partially blaming Mayor Ciafa for some of the mishaps at the institution, and wondering what would have been the fate of the entity if these issues had not been brought up at this time.
But an insider confided in the Hot Pepper that when Mayor Ciafa took over the MCC he hired Abel Nowon as Director General of Fiscal Affairs, and made him head of three (3) departments: finance, Revenue, and Procurement, with direct oversight.
According to the source, Abel came with a strong financial management background because he was business manager for former DC 101 FM, former comptroller at AMEU, and was even chief of customs collection in the port when Dixon Seboe was Commissioner of Revenue.
Sadly, the source revealed, Nowon was not proactive and the mayor would often try to set in controls and ask him to look into issues of concern instead of him being proactive. Worse of it, Comptroller Wleemongar James is allegedly at the center of the criminal cartel at the MCC, making it difficult to break such a long-tuning syndicate in a day
Meanwhile, the Hot Pepper’s investigation has revealed that the Comptroller, Wleemongar James, has fled the country and has been spotted in Ghana. In an effort to bring him to justice, the Government of Liberia (GOL) has alerted the International Police (Interpol) and requested them to have him arrested and extradited to Liberia. Investigation continues.