Audit Reveals LTA’s Mismanagement of Government Funds and Illegal HQ Contract Award in Liberia

A compliance audit of the Special Investigation at the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) has been carried out by the General Auditing Commission (GAC), revealing significant issues regarding financial management and contract awarding practices at the LTA. The audit, covering the period from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023, was conducted in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, including the Auditor General's mandate outlined in the GAC Act of 2014.

The audit report highlights that the LTA failed to remit the government's share of revenue amounting to US$3,859,662.18 for the audited period. Despite this failure, LTA management continued to pay TIA a 49% share of revenue during 2023, exceeding the 45% stipulated in the contract for the remaining four years. This discrepancy has led to an unremitted share of revenue totaling US$2,943,010.33. Additionally, the management did not include the required 9% regulatory fee charge on the total revenue from Mobile Network Operators (MTN and Orange) in the revenue-sharing calculations.

Another significant finding is that the LTA did not open a designated Liberian Dollars transitory bank account at United Bank of Africa Liberia Limited, as required by the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The audit also uncovered irregularities related to the LTA Headquarters construction contract. There was no evidence of a bidding process for the hiring of a project evaluator, Hasan Al-Turabi Samura. Furthermore, there was no procurement process or formal contract between Samura and LTA. The audit also noted the lack of documentation such as business registration, tax clearance, and Terms of Reference (ToR) for a payment of US$1,000 made for assessing the status of the project for the next milestone payment term, which was 12% of US$552,491.76.

The report found that the private evaluator, Hasan Al-Turabi Samura, did not provide a comprehensive catalog of the technical details of construction work, supported by pictorial evidence. Nonetheless, the report was used to justify the disbursement of US$903,368.00 to Building Material Center Group Incorporated for services performed. The audit revealed that LTA management made two payments totaling L$169,319,769.20 (approximately US$903,368.00) to BMC Incorporated, which exceeded the second payment term by US$360,876.24.

Moreover, the audit found that the bid evaluation committee lacked the technical expertise necessary for evaluating the construction project proposals. There was no evidence that the committee assessed the rights and ownership of assets as required by the bid evaluation criteria.

In light of these findings, the GAC recommends that LTA management account for the unremitted Government of Liberia share of revenue amounting to US$4,035,147.58 and deposit this amount into the consolidated account without delay. Going forward, it is recommended that management ensure the timely deposit of the GoL’s share of revenue into the consolidated account.

The Revenue Sharing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) should be revised to reflect the approved revenue-sharing rates determined by the Legislature at the start of each fiscal year, and these rates should be automatically incorporated into the transitory account to ensure proper distribution of fees. Periodic reconciliations of revenue-sharing analyses should be conducted, with discrepancies investigated and corrected in subsequent disbursements. All evidence of these reconciliations and supporting records should be properly documented and filed for future review.

In response, LTA management contends that the auditors understated the total remittances in Liberian Dollars, reporting L$546,053,627.39 instead of the actual L$575,223,561.55, resulting in an understatement of L$29,169,934.16. Management explained that the delay in processing was due to the Central Bank of Liberia's inability to issue Manager’s Checks in a timely manner to support the remittances to the government.