National Disaster Management to Face Senate's Wrath Over Discrepancies in 2024 Budget Performance Report

Monrovia, Liberia: The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) has come under grave scrutiny after Senator Crayton Duncan of Sinoe County accused the agency of submitting a fraudulent narrative in the Agency 2024 Fiscal Year National Budget performance.

In a formal communication to the Senate Plenary, Senator Duncan requested the appearance of the NDMA’s leadership, alleging that the agency wrongfully took credit for four major projects that were actually completed under the previous administration of the Coalition for Democratic Change.

Addressing the Senate on the matter, the Sinoe Senator alarmed over the credibility of the NDMA’s report, which listed four key achievements for 2024 that were implemented under the CDC-led government.

Senator Duncan: “In the 2024 budget performance report, the agency claimed to have completed four milestone projects,” Duncan stated. “But after thorough research and verification, we found that these projects were done by the past government. I have documents to prove it.”

The Senator further revealed that he had made several calls to NDMA Executive Director Attorney Ansu Dulleh on multiple occasions to address the discrepancies, but to no avail, alleging that each time, Dulleh reportedly presented conflicting documents.

“Every time he came, he brought different sets of documents that contradicted the original claims,” Duncan explained. “And then, in our last meeting, the first thing he told me was that he never gave the Ministry of Finance the report that listed those four milestone accomplishments. He claimed the ministry formulated the report on its own,” the Senator revealed

The matter has now been placed before the Senate Plenary, with lawmakers expected to take immediate action. There are growing calls for both the NDMA and the Ministry of Finance to provide clarity on the discrepancies.

“This is a serious breach of accountability,” Senator Duncan contends, adding, “If we allow agencies to fabricate reports without consequences, we set a dangerous precedent for corruption and mismanagement in our governance system.”

Edited: E. Geedahgar Garsuah, Sr.