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| Foreign Minister Augustine K. Ngafuan |
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
MONROVIA, LIBERIA
Press Release
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(MONROVIA,
FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2014):
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has
announced the conclusion of its investigation into allegations of fraud with
rental/leases involving Ambassador Francis Tuan Karpeh and officers at the
Embassy of Liberia in Brussels, Belgium.
The investigation,
conducted by a 7-member Investigative Committee headed by Ambassador-At-Large
Robert Lormia, established that there was no criminal intent nor was there a
motive for personal enrichment by Ambassador Francis Tuan Karpeh or other
Liberian diplomatic officers in Belgium with respect to leased properties. The
Investigation Committee however noted procedural and administrative breaches in
the way payments were handled, which it concluded did not conform to accepted
accounting standards.
The Investigative
Committee found that the rigidity of the budgeting system often impelled the
Embassy to secure initial leases based on estimated cost in order to obtain
approval before the budget process was completed. The Embassy then concluded
final leases based on actual cost from the landlord. The difference between the
proforma and base rent in the case of Ambassador Karpeh and his officers in
Belgium was expended on sundry costs such as fees for general maintenance of
the building, maintenance of elevators and other systems connected to the
building, heating and cooling of areas external to the apartment, security,
garbage collection, and utilities, which unfortunately, were not adequately
covered in the quarterly remittances from Monrovia. These extra obligations, if left unattended,
would cause embarrassment to the officers concerned, in particular, and the
Government and country in general.
The investigation
report found that this situation was not widespread at all Liberian diplomatic
missions as was widely speculated and reported. However, some missions have
experienced serious difficulties as a result of shortfalls between remitted
amounts and actual amounts due to the ever increasing nature of leases and the
cost of utilities coupled with exchange rate losses caused by fluctuations in
foreign exchange rates between the US dollars, the currency in which monies
from Liberia are remitted and the currency of the host country including bank
charges. The Investigative Committee
found that this problem is more acute in the euro zone countries, including
Belgium.
The report recommends
that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, working in concert with the Ministry of
Finance and the Central Bank of Liberia, puts in place a realistic policy that
will govern monetary transactions at Liberia’s diplomatic missions abroad,
particularly with reference to payment of rents and leases. The Report also
recommends; that transactions and accounting practices at Liberian diplomatic
missions should undergo regular, periodic inspections through the Office of the
Inspector General of the Foreign Service, in a bid to enhance accountability at
the missions as well as objectively assess difficulties experienced by Liberian
diplomats, which could lead to a more expeditious solution of the difficulties.
It emphasizes that due notice be taken of the cost of living index in countries
hosting Liberian diplomatic missions, and that adequate budgeting and other
measures be taken to address those conditions.. Additionally, the report states
that keen note should be taken of the currency exchange rate fluctuations to
avoid shortfalls in remittances to the missions.
Signed:
Horatio
Bobby Willie
ASSISTANT MINISTER/PUBLIC AFFAIRS