US$25.47K On DSA Alone, US$8K On Air Tickets To Seek Medical Check-up in Turkey
With documentary evidence in our possession, we have investigated and uncovered how Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh spent US$25,472 on DSA alone and US$8,082 on Air Tickets to seek Medical check-ups in Turkey. Such a lavish expenditure on a single trip in a poor country like Liberia violates GOL Revised 2016/2017 Travel Ordinance Law.
Monrovia – Liberia: A thorough investigation by Verity News has uncovered that the Chief Justice of the Republic of Liberia, Her Honor Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh, lavishly spent more money on Foreign Travel Daily Subsistence Allowance and Foreign Travel Incidental Allowance contrary to what the law requires for a Chief Justice to spend on a single trip.
The investigation of Verity has revealed that Chief Justice Yuoh and her Special Assistant, Elsie M. Nyeplu, were paid a total of US$25,472 as foreign travel daily subsistence and incidental allowance to facilitate a 16-day foreign medical check-up in Turkey for Her Honor Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh. The office of the Comptroller of the Judiciary disbursed US$20,992 to Chief Justice Yuoh (Check #412488) and US$4,480 to Special Assistant Elsie Nyeplu (Check #412485).
Verity’s investigation also reveals that US$8,082 was spent only on air tickets for this single trip. The Chief Justice flew Business Class while her special assistant flew Economy Class according to leaked financial documents, including the disbursement form, requisition, proforma, and plane tickets prepared, signed, and approved by the accountant, the comptroller, and the court administrator respectively.
The dossier of financial documents in Verity’s possession shows that a total of US$33,554 was spent just on Daily Subsistence/Incidental Allowance and Air Tickets for Chief Justice Yuoh to seek personal medical check-up in Turkey from Saturday, February 17, 2024, to March 6, 2024. This raises concerns and uneasiness about lavish spending and wastage by senior public officials in Liberia, the World’s 8th poorest country, amid J.F.K. Referral Hospital lacking basic drugs and other medical supplies.
The Violation Of The GOL Revised Travel Ordinance Law of 2016/2017
Ordinance #16 of the GOL Revised Travel Ordinance Law of 2016/2017 states, “The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall be given in addition to the entitled accommodation and per diem an Incidental Allowance of US$350 for each day of stay abroad for extra accommodation charges and other incidental expenses irrespective of the country he/she is traveling to. This amount shall be accounted for, including submission of relevant hotel and other receipts on return.”
The Incidental Allowance for Foreign Travel of the Chief Justice as restated and simplified under #5 of Annexure One (I) of the Revised Travel Ordinance Law of 2016/2017 reads:
a. US$2,00.00 per day for the President
b. US$1,300.00 per day for the Vice President
c. US$350.00 per day for Chief Justice and Speaker
d. US$200.00 per day for the Deputy Speaker and President Pro-tempore
e. US$280.00 lump sum for the head of delegation
The DSA rate per day in Turkey is also stated under Annexure III as US$280.
Even though Ordinance #13 states that the number of days spent on any GOL perdiem-funded foreign trip shall not exceed seven (7) days, Chief Justice Yuoh along with her special assistant was paid over US$25.47k for 16 days as Daily Subsistence and Incidental Allowance to seek medical check-ups at the expense of State coffers. DSA according to the calculation under Annexure III means Per Diem and Hotel Rate. The Per Diem (US$90) and Hotel Rate (US$190) per day for Turkey as stated under Annexure III equates to US$280 Total DSA per day.
According to #5 of Annexure One (I) of the Revised Travel Ordinance of Law of 2016/2017, the Chief Justice should have been paid US$350 per day for Foreign Travel Incidental Allowance and US$280 for Foreign Travel Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA rate for Turkey) amounting to a total of US$630 per day for Daily Subsistence and Incidental Allowance. Based on the Travel Ordinance Law, the Chief Justice should have received US$10,080 as Daily Subsistence and Incidental Allowance for 16 days.
But Verity’s investigation has proven that she received US$20,992 while her special assistant, Elsie Nyeplu, who accompanied her to seek a foreign medical check-up received US$4,480. Our investigation proves that the Chief Justice violated Ordinance #13, Ordinance #16, and Annexure One (I) of the Revised Travel Ordinance Law of 2016/2017 which speak to Daily Subsistence Allowance and Incidental Allowance.
The Approved Budget of Chief Justice Yuoh for Fiscal Year 2024
Under the Approved 2024 Budget of the Office of the Chief Justice, there is no provision for medical check-ups or foreign medical as a whole. The Objects of Expenditure of the Chief Justice as stated under Budget Code 201 and Budget Line 0100 on Pages 162–163 captured appropriations for Chief Justice Yuoh’s annual Foreign Travel Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) as US$20,000 at Budget Line #221102 while Foreign Travel Incidental Allowance is US$7,000 at Budget Line #221103.
Based on the verifiable data captured in the 2024 approved budget, the Office of the Chief Justice has a total of US$27,000 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 covering both foreign travel daily subsistence allowance and incidental allowance. This is US$2,250 per month on average. As of March 6, 2024, since she returned from her “medical check-up” in Turkey, Chief Justice Yuoh had already spent an unreasonable lump sum of US$25.7k on DSA and Incidental Allowance on just a single trip for her medical checkup constituting 94.34% expenditure of her entire budget for Foreign Travel Daily Subsistence Allowance and Foreign Travel Incidental Allowance. As of March 6, Chief Justice Yuoh had only US$1,528 (5.66%) remaining in her budget for Foreign Travel Daily Subsistence Allowance and Foreign Travel Incidental Allowance according to our investigation. Financial and political pundits believe that this type of lavish spending accounts for ‘fiscal indiscipline’. Furthermore, some legal experts contacted by Verity News have argued that the appropriations for Foreign Travel DSA and Incidental Allowance were never meant for “personal medical check-ups” abroad but for official GOL duties/assignments that benefit the country and its people.
DSA Overspending Syndrome – The Legislature and Judiciary Hooked
The GOL Revised Travel Ordinance of 2016/2017 continues to be violated by senior public officials in government. Recently at a Senate Retreat in Buchanan, twenty-nine (29) Senators representing fifteen (15) counties grossly violated the Travel Ordinance Law by receiving far more money for DSA (domestic travel per diem allowance) per day.
Under Annexure III (GOL Domestic Travel Per Diem), the law states, “Deputy and Assistant Ministers, Senators, members of the House of Representatives, Ministers counselors of Embassies, Judges of Circuit Courts, Medical Doctors, Deputy Heads of Autonomous Agencies and Bureaus and others of comparable ranks shall receive LRD 10,000 as per diem allowance per day.”
However, each Senator received LRD 328,000 (US$1,708) for 4 days. This means that each Senator received a per diem allowance for 32 days instead of 4 days (US$40,000) which is an infraction of the law. Based on this brazen violation, Senator Amara Konneh of Gbarpolu County publicly acknowledged the blatant violation and announced on June 19, 2024, that he was refunding LRD 318,000 back into the Government of Liberia Revenue Account at the Central Bank of Liberia.
In continuation of this transgression, the investigation of Verity News has also uncovered that the Chief Justice, Her Honor Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh, who’s an arbiter/interpreter of the law, has also violated the law by spending more money on DSA and Incidental Allowance for a personal trip (medical check-up) in Turkey. But will there be any refund this time around?
