Grand Kru County Superintendent, Antoinette Wowlee Nimely, has dismissed claims that her administration was the subject of an adverse audit.
Madam Nimely insisted that reports circulating in the media were based on an internal audit inquiry, rather than a completed audit of the county administration.
She told journalists in Harper, Maryland County, the document, which now sparked public debate, “was merely a request for clarification from the internal audit unit, and should not have been interpreted as evidence of financial wrongdoing.”
“We have just come into office, and what you saw in the media was an inquiry from the internal audit. I worked in the foreign service, but this is the first time have served in local government.”
Madam Nimely attributed the issue to the county’s finance officer. She explained that the finance officer had previously worked in the private banking sector, and was therefore, “unfamiliar with government’s financial reporting template.”
The finance officer, she said, had initially submitted the county’s financial report without attaching the required supporting documents, “because he prepared it using banking reporting standards rather than government procedures.”
Madam Nimely said, the missing documentation was later compiled and submitted to the internal audit unit, enabling the county to access its allocated 2025 Social Development Fund.
She meanwhile, urged journalists to seek comments from public officials before publishing allegations, “because balanced reporting is one of fundamental principles of the journalism profession.”
Madam Nimely called on young people to refrain from making statements that could “unfairly damage the reputations of public officials.”
Her remarks come amid heightened public interest in financial accountability in the county following the circulation of an internal audit document that questioned aspects of the financial reporting.
