The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) says its attention has been drawn to a story in the media inquiring as to whether taxes have gone missing from the government’s consolidated account at the bank.
“CBL hereby clarifies to the general public that it is not a signatory to the procedural channels regarding the movement of GOL’s revenue from commercial bank accounts to the consolidated revenue account, but only implements the movement of funds from the accounts based on directive from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning(MFDP),” the CBL said in a press release.
“All taxes mobilized by the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) are paid into the transitory accounts at commercial banks, consistent with the Public Financial Management (PFM) Law, and eventually moved into the government’s consolidated account held at the CBL, exclusively under the transparent and accountable mandate of the MFDP and LRA. Transitory accounts are issues for LRA and commercial banks.”
According to CBL, at the end of every reconciliatory period, and in support of proper accountability, a routine validation is done between the LRA and the commercial banks (excluding the CBL) to confirm that all funds collected and placed in the transitory accounts are appropriately handled in line with policy. The CBL neither participates in the setting of revenue target, nor has any jurisdiction or knowledge about the actual amount received by commercial banks prior to any movement of funds into GOL’s accounts.
“CBL reiterates to the general public that it has no statutory control over the operational functioning of GOL’s transitory accounts at the commercial banks, nor does it have any control over the movement of cash from the consolidated account of the government unless by a formalized instruction from MFDP.
“The CBL reassures the public of its full commitment to transparency in the implementation of monetary policy operations to strengthen confidence. In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, the CBL remains available in providing necessary clarifications and accurate information on issues of concern to its operations,” the central bank maintained.