Civil Servants Payroll To Be audited ...Cornomia Asks Int”t Community to help

The Special presidential committee on salary arrears of the National Transitional Government of Liberia is seeking the services of reputable Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firms for payroll audit services.

According to an invitation to bid from the office of the Executive Assistant to NTGL Chairman C. Gyude Bryant, interested firms must be practicing in Liberia, and should submit sealed proposals to the committee.

The invitation to bid said bid envelops should be conspicuously marked “confidential do not open”. Bidding is expected to close on Monday, May 10, 2004 at 4:00pm, and will be publicly opened on the same day at 5pm.

The scope of work, according to the invitation to bid, the successful bidder will be required to conduct a comprehensive audit of the payroll records of all branches and agencies of government of Liberia nationwide to determine the actual numerical size of the current public service workforce and the monetary value of the government’s liabilities, both for current salary payments and salary arrears, as the exercise will also involve physical verification of employees.

The successful bidder will also be required to a dull review of the government’s salary payment procedures, including payee verification processes at various government agencies and banking institutions handling the issuance and or encashment of payroll checks. Test payroll system integrity and make appropriate recommendation for procedural changes to prevent future payroll fraud, and work with a verification team comprised of representatives of the Civil Servants’ Association in a nationwide verification exercise.

The qualifying CPA firm must be either a reputable international auditing /accounting firm, or a local affiliate, show proof of capability to adequately handle dimensions of the assignment. This will include the curriculum vitae of the principal officers of the audit team, and furnish at least three letters of recommendation from major public or private sector clients, whether local or international.

Meanwhile, the committee says it reserves the right to reject any and all bids without notice or justification. The duration of assignment is 31 days.

Interested firm(s) accordingly, should submit their bids to The Chairman Special Presidential Committee on Salary Arrears C/o The Governor, Central Bank of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia.

In another development relative to civil servants salary arrears, Bong County’s lawmaker, Rep. Joseph Cornomia has sent out an SOS call to friendly nations and the international community at large, to come to the aid of Liberia’s civil servants and public school teachers.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The INQUIRER late Saturday, assemblyman Cornomia said the issue about civil servants and teachers’ pay could undermine the Liberian peace process if nit addressed as a matter of urgency.

The outspoken Bong County lawmaker said, “this is not for joke, taking into account the level of demonstrations and disturbances taking place in Monrovia on a daily basis.”

He then said government officials and ex-combatants are getting resettlement and disarmament benefits, coupled with skill training while civil servants are left undone.

Rep. Cornomia lamented that civil servants who were badly hit as a result of the war can not get anything in return.

Assemblyman Cornomia urged the National Transitional Government of Liberia(NTGL) to join him in sending out a SOS call to the international community in the interest of Liberia’s war weary civil servants.

“If this problem is not solved, our peace process could be in problem. So, the NTGL at the highest level must join me in sending this appeal to the international community including the European Union(EU), the United States of America(USA) and the Peoples’ Republic of China(PRC),” he reiterated.

In a related development, assemblyman Cornomia has urged the United Nations Mission in Liberia(UNMIL) to provide job opportunities to Liberians in a bid to get their children off the street and into school.

He said, instead of bringing in many foreign nationals, UNMIL must truly be a friend to Liberians by giving them the opportunity to get a living.

“This generation will be destroyed if we fail to train them to take over from us, provide jobs and other opportunities and programs to them”, the Bong County assemblyman said.

Recently, the Bong County Assemblyman proposed another donor conference to help settle the issue of civil servants salaries and other benefits.