By Nyantee Togba
nyanteetogba@gmail.com
Monrovia,Liberia: The Joint Public Account Committee at the National Legislature has demanded the appearances of former JFK Administrator Winnie Scott McDonald and several top officials.
Madam Scott Macdonald and others are to answer to allegation of misappropriation of over three million United States dollars from the period June 2012 to present.
The mandate given by PAC Chairman Henry Yallah followed an audit report presented by the General Auditing Commission during a public hearing. The audit shows that the JFK management created additional 19 different accounts without the knowledge of the JFK Board.
At the hearing, the Deputy Auditor General Winsley Nanka said a total of 761 thousand United States Dollars expended by the JFK management as donation and contribution was not accounted for.
Nyanka also told legislators that the GAC also unearthed that the JFK Chief Financial Officer Serena Gbaba was absent from work for the period of one year but received salaries amounting to 41, 280 United Stated dollars and 1.3 million Liberian dollars respectively.
Meanwhile, two of several top officials who worked along with the JFK former Administrator admitted to some of the irregularities that occurred at the Medical Center during the past regime.
Kaifa Dennis, the JFK Director for Planning and Development told the legislature that he was only aware of 5 of out 19 illegal accounts that were created by the top JFK management.
At the same time, JFK Human Resource Manager Madam Modue Lawrence said she was sidelined from every activity including the payroll system something she claimed did not go down well with her.
Following the GAC report presented to the Joint Public Account Committee of the National Legislature, River County Senator Dallas Gueh told reporters that the JFK past management must be held responsible for the misappropriation of funding.
For his part, the newly appointed JFK Chief Executive Officer Dr. Jerry Brown says since his appointment, he’s yet access several essential documents from the past JFK management.
Dr. Brown told the Legislature Wednesday that some top officials within the JFK management don’t want to cooperate with him on ground that his appointment has not being sanctioned by the board.
According to him, he is now being engulfed with difficult situation in steering the affairs of the JFK.
He however noted that the JFK management is currently running a tentative budget of 500 thousand United States Dollars approved by President George Weah.
