The Civil Society Network of Liberia (CSNL) says its attention has been drawn to the Tuesday, December 28, 2021 edition of the New Dawn, captioned, “Revealed! US$2.8 Million Planted in NEC Budget–Commissioner Floyd Sayor Linked”. In its reportage, the paper quoted a memo from the Chairperson of the National Elections Commission (NEC) accusing the Chairperson of the 2023 Elections Steering Committee, Commissioner Floyd Sayor, of inserting US$2.8 million into the Commission’s 2022 budget for monitoring and tracking systems, vehicles, bikes and other expenditures without her knowledge.
In a press release issued Wednesday, December 29, 2021, CSNL said, “Having investigated this story, the Civil Society Network of Liberia wants to make it unequivocally clear that the publication is not only false and misleading, but falls short of all budgetary operations. A critical review and analysis of the 2022 budget of the National Elections Commission (NEC) shows no budgetary line of US$2.8 million. It is incomprehensible for the New Dawn to have published such outrageous memo from the Chairperson of the National Elections Commission when the Chairperson of the 2023 Steering Committee does not formulate budget lines. The Budget of the NEC is a compilation of budget lines from different sections and departments. Furthermore, divulging such belated memo to the public is a smokescreen intended to divert from the ongoing prosecution of Madam Davidetta Brown Lasannah on allegations of corruption and conflict of interest. It is absurd and irrational for Madam Davidetta Browne Lansanah to have no knowledge of any budget line when she reviewed and approved of the Commission’s budget before submission to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.
“Moreover, assertions made by Madam Davidetta Brown Lansanah in the overdue memo that Commissioner Floyd Sayor has not established any reporting mechanisms and held any meeting as Chairperson of the 2023 Elections Steering Committee is farfetched and propaganda designed to mislead the public. Copies of meeting minutes and reports from various ad-hoc committees, including the Outreach Committee, and completion of feasibility studies on the Biometric Voter Registration are in the possession of Madam Davidetta Brown Lansanah. There are established activities with attached timeline for all ad-hoc committees on the 2023 Elections. As part of the working of the Ad-hoc Committees, report on their operational budgets was contained in the commission’s budget before the Legislature. It is even ill-fated and ridiculous for Madam Brown Lansanah to send such memo to Commissioner Sayor, when the NEC had been busy of late with four bi-elections and subsequent investigations by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) on allegations of corruption and conflict of interest.
“Finally, the Civil Society Network of Liberia welcomes the LACC recent investigative reports on the National Elections Commission on allegations of corruption and financial improprieties by the Chairperson of the National Elections Commission, Madam Davidetta Brown Lansanah. To maintain the integrity and morality of the National Elections Commission, we call on President Weah to suspend Madam Brown Lansanh for time indefinite to enable her to focus on her prosecution at the court.”