Margibi County Senator and Chairman of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) Legislative Caucus and Nimba County’s district #7 Representative, Musa Hassa Bility, have called for an independent investigation into the tempering of the 2024 national budget by some persons either in the Executive or the Legislature. The Legislature has acknowledged the tempering of the National Budget that was passed by them and subsequently submitted to the Executive branch. The Public Accounts and Expenditure Committee chairs of the Senate and House had reported the tempering of the national budget.
Addressing reporters on Thursday, August 15, 2024 on Capitol Hill, the two legislators said the issue in the public concerning tempering with the budget needs investigation in order to establish the root cause and individuals behind it before the submission of a recast budget. According to them, the act is criminal and, therefore, full investigation should be instituted by the Pro-Tempore and the Speaker.
Senator McGill is therefore suggesting for the Legislature to recall themselves for the sole purpose of investigating the budget tempering. He indicated that the budget is a national document, and if the aura surrounding it concerns the general public the need for the people’s deputies to return from their break cannot be over-emphasized. According to the Margibi Senator, the allegation regarding the budget tempering should claim the attention of all legislators, that they may recall themselves as requested by him.
For his part, Representative Bility underscored that such an investigation should be done by an independent integrity group like the General Auditing Commission (GAC) and Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC). The Nimba lawmaker suggested that the Legislature not be allowed to investigate herself because members were part of the budget allocation process. He also opposed the submission of any budget until full investigation is done into the budget tempering issue. He pointed out that the budget is a law, and tempering with it after its final passage by the Legislature is crime and need to be investigated by an integrity institution.
Senator McGill and Representative Bility also urged the Unity Party led government to stop dismissing civil servants from their respective work places based on their personal views on national issues. According to them, some of the recent dismissal done by the CSA is illegal and should therefore stop.
