About 114 Ebola’s Vehicles Stolen

The National Fleet Registry (IAA) discloses that 114 vehicles used during the recent outbreak of the Ebola Virus in the country cannot be located or found, saying the IAA was able to physically verify 268 of the 382 vehicles and all 134 motorcycles.

The Director General of the General Services Agency, Madam Mary Broh, recently told journalists that many of the vehicles used in the fight against the virus cannot be located. She added: “Ministries and Agencies are unable to account for vehicles given them for the fight against Ebola,” Director Broh said. She said that there exist a discrepancy between the recorded number of vehicles by GSA and the report submitted by the Internal Audit Agency based on findings from its recent audit.

Madam Broh said the GSA was not directly involved in the vehicles management. “They bring the vehicles and we code them.” The GSA Boss vowed that her agency will ensure that most of the vehicles assigned during the outbreak are collected for redistribution.

According to the IAA, the remaining 114 vehicles, which were not available for physical verification during the exercise, belong to the Ministry of Health which has a total of 323 of the 382 vehicles committed to fight the Ebola epidemic.

The report further added that the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) was given 13 vehicles but Ministry’s registry showed only 12, with one missing, saying that an attempt by IAA to reconcile both records disclosed that GSA’s and MICAT’s records had only seven (7) vehicles in common. Five vehicles coded by GSA were not registered by them (GSA), but were captured in MICAT registry, while six (6) vehicles listed at GSA were not recorded by MICAT.

The report noted inconsistencies in the fleet records between the General Services Agency and Ministries, Agencies and Commissions across government. “The fleet verification exercise draws attention to the critical issue of gross inconsistencies between the National Fleet Registry maintained by the GSA and those kept by the various MACs.

These inconsistencies are as the result of vehicles being auctioned or disposed of by MACs without the knowledge and acquiescence of GSA as required by Government’s policies on assets; GSA’s dereliction of its duties to regularly update and maintain accurate information on all assets of Government; and poor collaboration and coordination between GSA and the MACs”, the IAA report observed.

The Report continues: “For example, GSA’s record of vehicles belonging to the Ministry of Education (MoE) still has 51 cars which were disposed of jointly by GSA and MoE from 2008 – 2014. GSA’s Registry also has extra 58 vehicles reportedly for MoH which the Ministry claims to know nothing about.”

Report by IAA further reveals that out of the 382 vehicles and 134 motorcycles reported by GSA, MoH and NTFE, the IAA physically verified 209 at the MoH. The audit report added that the IAA verified 24 at MoE, 22 at the Liberia National Police, five (5) at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, four (4) at the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (BIN), and four (4) at the GSA. The remaining 114 vehicles were not available and thus could not be physically verified.

“The IAA has submitted the list of those not available to the MoH for prompt action. The one hundred (100) motorcycles reported under the Ministry of Health, Ninety two (92) motorcycles were physically verified, one was reported stolen in Margibi and the remaining seven (7) were not physically verified. The 34 motorcycles in the custody of BIN were also verified”, the IAA audit noted.

Similarly, at the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, the IAA realized that the Ministry listed 15 cars and 20 motorcycles but only 11 vehicles and five (5) motorcycles were registered at the GSA. Two of the 11 cars were disposed of without the involvement of GSA.

On many instances, even when records exist, important information such as license plate number, proper description, the value of the vehicle, and the date of purchase is omitted. However, IAA is working with GSA and the respective MACs to resolve the discrepancies.

According to the report, GSA administration needs to ensure that the department responsible for assets is capacitated and robust in ensuring compliance with laws and policies so as to reduce the chances of government’s assets being abused, misused or stolen. It also states that the department also needs to enhance its record system of assets in Government.

According to information gathered from the Ministry of Health (MoH), the General Services Agency, (GSA), and the National Task Force on Ebola (NTFE), a total of 382 vehicles and 134 motorcycles were given by the Government of Liberia and development partners to support the fight against Ebola.

The Government and small donors contributed 162 vehicles, followed by the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) which donated 89, the World Bank 55, UNMIL 23, WHO 20, UNICEF 18, and UNMEER donated 15 vehicles.

During the Ebola pandemic in Liberia, several local and international donors and the Government of Liberia made significant contributions to curtail the spread of the virus and inevitably end the Ebola outbreak.

From the emergence of the first case in March 2014, to May 2015 when the Country was officially declared Ebola-free, donations in cash, supplies, vehicles, etc., were made to Liberia by local, regional and international donors to fight the disease. Various structures were created to manage the donations, and ensure proper coordination and collaboration between and amongst the entities engaged in the fight against the disease.

The fleet assessment report delves into the system of management of the cars and motorcycles used in the fight against the virus, and focuses primarily on the status, location, custodian and utilization of the vehicles and motorcycles apportioned to various ministries, agencies and commissions (MACs) directly or indirectly involved in the fight against the Ebola virus disease which plagued the country from March 2014 to May 2015.