In a country where access to basic services remains a daily struggle for millions, the Joint Public Accounts, Audit and Expenditure Committee (PAC) of Liberia’s 55th Legislature has managed to consume nearly US$1.5 million over two fiscal years: US$738,312 in 2024 and the same amount again in 2025, for what is essentially administrative housekeeping. The justification? Retreats, meetings, and the so-called “validation” of consolidated audit reports at luxury resorts like Farmington Hotel. For a country still heavily reliant on donor aid and struggling with widespread corruption and mismanagement, this level of spending without public accountability raises more red flags than reassurance.
Let us be clear: the legislative oversight of audit reports is essential in any democracy. But when that process becomes a costly ritual with no traceable impact on public policy, fiscal discipline, or prosecution of wrongdoing, then it becomes an insult to struggling taxpayers. Over the past several years, dozens of General Auditing Commission (GAC) reports have uncovered financial improprieties in ministries, agencies, and state enterprises. Yet, the translation of these audits into real world consequences such as fired officials, returned money, and prosecutions has been next to nonexistent. So why should the public continue to foot the bill for retreats that seem to accomplish little more than reading and recycling findings that are rarely acted upon?
The justification offered by Representative Clarence Gahr, PAC Chairman, that the retreat aligns with the 2014 General Auditing Commission Act and Public Financial Management regulations, is a technical defense that does not answer the most pressing question: where is the value for money? While the law may require the Legislature to review audit reports and submit recommendations to the Executive, it certainly does not mandate that this process occur in high-end hotels, far removed from the communities affected by the very mismanagement detailed in those audits. If the purpose of this process is accountability, then why are Liberians kept in the dark about the results?
It is even more troubling when Senator Amara Konneh, co-chair of the Committee, casually mentions that the committee will “revert to plenary” for endorsement before forwarding the report to the President. That sounds neat on paper, but the cycle is familiar: receive GAC report, hold closed door reviews, produce unreadable committee summaries, forward to plenary, then to the Executive, and finally silence. In that silence, the mismanagement continues, as the cost of government grows heavier on the backs of the people.
Imagine what US$1.5 million could do for Liberia’s struggling health sector, public schools, or rural infrastructure. It could fund critical hospital supplies, teacher training programs, or rural electrification projects. But instead, this money is being consumed by retreats whose deliverables never see the light of day. The public never gets to know which audit findings led to what recommendations, or what actions were taken against violators.
Transparency should not end with the publication of GAC reports; it must continue through every stage of legislative oversight. Citizens deserve to know not only that public hearings took place, but also what was said, who was held accountable, and what measures were adopted to recover stolen funds or prevent future abuse. That’s the real test of PAC’s effectiveness, not the number of retreats held, but the number of corrupt officials exposed and held accountable.
If the leadership of the Legislature is serious about good governance, it should halt these expensive retreats and bring public hearings closer to the people. Let audit reviews take place in communities where the consequences of corruption are felt most deeply. Let the process be televised. Let civil society and journalists in the room. Then, and only then, will these sessions start to justify their budgets.
Until that day comes, the nearly US$1.5 million spent on these so-called public hearings will remain not just wasteful, but emblematic of the very dysfunction they claim to address.
