Honorable Richard Nagbe Koon – Speaker of the 55th National Legislature and Guest Speaker

Mr. Papin Daniels -The President of the Liberia Institute of Certified Public Accountants (LICPA)

Honorable Mohamed Korleh – The Vice President of LICPA and Deputy Director General for Administration of the Internal Audit Agency

Deputy Auditors General

Members of the Governing Council of the LICPA

Honorable Modou Ceesay – The Auditor General of the Gambia and Chairperson of the Governing Council of the African Professionalization Initiatives (API)

Mr. Evans Mulera – The Chief Executive Officer of the API

Graduands of the Inaugural Class of the API

Members of the LICPA, Visiting Guests, Friends & Relatives of the Graduands, Members of the Media,

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen:

Today, we have gathered to celebrate the inaugural graduation ceremony of the African Professionalization Initiatives in Liberia. The API is a substantive, continentally recognized, locally and internationally customized, emerging financial management and assurance professional qualification that aims to optimize quality service delivery in the public sector of Africa. As one of the key figures behind the emergence of the API in Liberia, I gracefully accepted and feel honored to deliver this goodwill address.

Almost four years ago, when I commenced my tenure as Auditor General of the Republic of Liberia, I performed a comprehensive status assessment of our public financial management ecosystem. I wanted to understand the existing gaps, level of non-compliance, challenges, and measures to mitigate the existing discrepancies to appreciable levels. Among the major discrepancies identified were significant non-preparation and submission of financial statements to the Offices of the Auditor General and Comptroller and Accountant General, unautomated linkages of tax collection platforms and reporting irregularities, significant non-compliance with the public financial management laws and associated regulations, and an inadequate system to follow up on the implementation of the Auditor General’s recommendations.

As an interim measure to address the significant 60% rate for non-compliance with the preparation and submission of annual financial statements of government ministries, agencies, and commissions, we rallied with the Ministry of Finance, through the Office of the Comptroller and Accountant General and the National Legislature, to adopt and operationalize sanctions/penalties for non-compliance. After extensive deliberations amongst stakeholders, it was agreed and adopted as part of the Amended and Restated Public Financial Management Regulations that all heads and comptrollers of non-compliant ministries, agencies, and commissions’ remunerations should be withheld until financial statements are submitted accordingly. This measure significantly improved submission compliance by about ninety percent (90%), but the quality of financial statements was still not up to required standards.

We therefore recognized that to improve the quality of financial reporting and mitigate other discrepancies in our public financial management landscape, the need for qualified and experienced financial management and assurance professionals in our public service could not be overemphasized. To address the deficiencies, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning initiated a number of training opportunities, and it was agreed amongst lead stakeholders that opportunities to professionalize public financial management actors should be urgently prioritized.

In the midst of those discussions, I was alerted about the emergence of the African Professionalization Initiatives through the African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions – English Speaking Body (AFROSAI-E), and the practical and flexible-to-customization nature of the program captivated my interest. I thereafter solicited the interest and cooperation of the LICPA and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, and based on our shared ambition, it was agreed that the country would adopt the program as a medium measure for enhancing capacity in our public financial management landscape. To formalize the adoption, the immediate past president of the LICPA, Mr. Victor Tarwone Sr., and the former Comptroller and Accountant General of Liberia, Mr. Janga Kowo, joined your humble servant and Auditor General of Liberia, P. Garswa Jackson Sr., in Banjul, the Gambia, and as part of a side event of the annual AFROSAI-E Governing Board Meeting, signed an Expression of Intent. The signing ceremony was followed by several discussions relative to facilitating the program through the LICPA, customizing the program to fit the Liberian context, creating awareness and soliciting students and support for the program, and subsequently the signing of an official MoU with the African Professionalization Initiatives (the API). Today, we are proud to witness the first beneficiaries of all those efforts.

Let me begin by thanking Mr. Evans Mulera, Chief Executive Officer of the API, one of the most passionate and persuasive gentlemen I have ever met; his dynamic team; and my dear friend and brother Honorable Modou Ceesay, the intelligent Auditor General of the Gambia and Chairperson of the API Governing Council, for all the efforts that have been put into coordinating, galvanizing support, and branding this program. We appreciate all that you do at the API to ensure that public sector capacity is optimized on the continent.

To Mr. Papin Daniels, the reliable current President of the LICPA; the dynamic immediate past President, Mr. Victor Tarwone Sr; our effective Vice President Honorable Mohammed Kolleh; members of the Governing Council; our hardworking team at LICPA Secretariat; and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning past and current teams; we congratulate all of you on this historic and pioneering achievement. What we have worked to establish will go a long way in enhancing capacity for our public financial management and assurance sector, thereby leading to quality and optimum service delivery in the interest of our people.

To the graduands, the inaugural graduation class of the African Professionalization Initiatives in Liberia, the soon-to-be inducted Professional Public Sector Accountants, and Associate Members of the Liberia Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Congratulations! You have all made us proud. You venture into the world of the unknown, with no prior knowledge of what to expect, no previous alumni to share old notes, past examinations, and study strategies. In spite of your demanding work schedules, you braved the storm, and attempted and completed fifty-five (55) challenging courses, 15 professional modules, and one (1) exit examination. You did this because you wanted to expand your knowledge, improve your skill sets, and enhance your capacity to contribute to the public sector of our beloved country. Congratulations to you and to all those who assisted you in this endeavor.

On May 22, 1939, British writer Clive Staples Lewis, while delivering his sermon entitled “Learning in War-Time.” at Oxford, with the Second World War a month underway, the big question for Oxford students and educators was whether their education would continue, and in what form. What was the use in pursuing knowledge in such a volatile time? C.S. Lewis reassured them with these words:

“The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.”

Although he was addressing university students during an emerging war, the larger lesson is clear. No one ever got anything done by waiting for the perfect circumstances. There is always some difficulty that gets in the way, some reasons to postpone, but it is only those who persevere that are rewarded. You should all therefore be very proud of yourselves and your achievements.

However, the knowledge gained from the courses completed must be applied to improve service delivery and basic social services to our citizens. Prominent Athenian statesman Pericles stated, “Having knowledge but lacking the power to express it clearly is no better than never having any ideas at all.”

Russian Playwright Anton Chekhov stated, “Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.”

And American journalist Margaret Fuller stated, “If you have knowledge, let others light their candles at it.”

With that said, I want to wish all you graduands a more proactive and productive public service, where you would proudly execute your skill sets, share your knowledge, and gracefully climb the corporate ladder. Be also reminded that with this qualification comes the responsibility to maintain good moral conduct and high ethical standards in the discharge of national duties and in your personal lives.

In conclusion, and in the presence of the Honorable Speaker, I would like to plead with the Government of Liberia to support this professional program through budgetary allocation, particularly to major institutions driving our public financial management ecosystem. I encourage heads of entities and our development partners to join the support in prioritizing professionalism for all public financial management actors. And I want to assure our team at the General Auditing Commission that our current fourteen (14) graduands are just the pacesetters. There will be many more to follow (at least during my tenure of office). We will remain the flagship institution for the API and other relevant financial management and professional qualifications in our quest to enhance transparency, accountability, and fiscal probity in our governance processes.

May the good Lord bless us all and save the state. Thank you!