The General Auditing Commission (GAC), has released a damning status report.
The report revealed how significant number of Liberian government institutions have either poorly implemented, or completely ignored audit recommendations.
This raised serious concerns about accountability and financial governance across the public sector.
In the Auditor General’s Status Report on the Implementation of Audit Recommendations at 62 audited entities.
It covered the audit follow-up period from August 1, 2024, to August 31, 2025, while overall implementation remains weak despite modest improvements.
The GAC reported that only 37 percent of audit recommendations, 2,647 out of 7,169, were implemented during the review period.
While a few institutions demonstrated strong compliance, the report highlights that many critical ministries, agencies, commissions, and even the legislature, “performed dismally,” with some recording implementation rates as low as zero percent.
The GAC described the situation as “undermining efforts to promote accountability of public resources.”
Success stories
Meanwhile, the National Road Fund (NRF) emerged as the top-performing entity with a 93 percent implementation rate, earning a “significant fully compliant” rating.
It was followed by the Liberia Maritime Authority (LiMA) at 91 percent, and the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) at 90 percent, placing them among the most compliant institutions for 2025.
Other entities scoring above 80 percent, include the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) at 82 percent, and several institutions tied at 81 percent, including the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs (MoS), the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC), and the Liberia Airport Authority (LAA).
The Executive Protective Service (EPS) and the National Identification Registry (NIR), followed closely with 80 percent each.
However, the GAC report sharply contrasts these successes with widespread underperformance across many government entities. Institutions categorized as “poor,” with implementation rates between 1 and 39 percent, include the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), and the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), both recording a troubling 1 percent implementation rate.
The Liberia Land Authority (LLA) posted a 5 percent rate, while the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), a central institution responsible for public financial management, recorded just 8 percent.
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and the Senate of Liberia each achieved only 17 percent implementation.
Similarly, the Liberia Institute of Public Administration (LIPA) stood at 19 percent, while the Ministry of Health, which oversees one of the country’s most critical sectors, recorded a low 21 percent implementation rate.
The GAC classified all these institutions as “poor performers” for the 2025 audit cycle.
Other side of the story
Even more alarming, the report shows that several key entities have not begun implementing audit recommendations at all.
The National Port Authority (NPA), Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), and Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MoPT) all recorded zero percent implementation, indicating a complete lack of follow-up action.
In its audit follow-up dashboard, the GAC said some entities were marked as “non-compliant” or “partially compliant,” reflecting persistent failures in addressing financial, compliance, and performance-related audit findings.
These shortcomings span financial management, procurement, project execution, and internal controls.
The GAC said failure to implement audit recommendations weakens public trust, and exposes government institutions to repeated financial irregularities.
The Commission described audit follow-up as a critical component of public sector reform and effective governance.
Despite the presence of a few high-performing institutions, the GAC report makes clear that the overall audit compliance culture remains fragile.
The Commission noted that slow, poor, and zero implementation rates continue to dominate the public sector landscape.
The Auditor General said while incremental progress has been made, the pace of reform is insufficient.
The GAC reaffirmed its mandate to monitor compliance and warned that sustained failure to act on audit recommendations threatens transparency, accountability, and the prudent use of public resources. Source: Socrates Smythe Saywon/ smartnewsliberia.com
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