Mostly Correct: PFM Law Authorizes Finance Minister to Act Against Non-Reporting Gov’t Officials

Report by: Varney Kelvin Sirleaf | LVL Fact Checker

Claim

The Public Financial Management Act states that the Minister of Finance can hold the salary of the head of the entity who is not reporting on time.

Summary

Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah claims that he has the power granted to him by the PFM law to hold salaries of head of ministries and agencies who are not reporting their financial activities on time. We checked and found his statement to be mostly correct.

Evidence

Finance and Development Planning Minister Samuel Tweah recently claimed that the Public Financial Management Act of 2009 gives the Minister of Finance the authority to withhold salaries of heads of government ministries and agencies who delay in submitting their (financial) reports.

Minister Tweah speaking at the signing ceremony of four new support programmes from the European Union in Liberia said: “The law says if a minister is not reporting on time, that’s a law, we have not exercised the law. The minister of finance can hold the salary of the head of the entity”.

Local Voices Liberia Fact Checking Desk verified the claim made by Minister Tweah and found that there were amendments made to the Public Financial Management Act of 2009.

Section 11 of the Amended PFM Act which was approved and published in October 2019, gives the Minister of Finance and Development Planning the authority to develop regulations, instructions and guidelines to ensure proper management of public finances.

Section 11 of the PFM Law outlines the authority of the Finance Minister in regulating the public finances

Section 11 of the Amended PFM Act reads: “The Minister may issue regulations, instructions and guidelines as the need arises, to further clarify specific responsibilities and tasks related to the implementation of this Act and its regulations consistent with the Administrative Producers Law and the Executive Law”.

Conclusion

Based upon this authority which Section 11 of the Amended PFM Act gives Liberia’s Finance Minister the authority to regulate the public finances by setting regulations, instructions and guidelines. Therefore, Minister Tweah is mostly correct by saying that the PFM law grants him the power to hold salaries of heads of government ministries and agencies who are delaying the submission of their financial reports.