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Claim:Activist Martin Kollie has accused Commissioner General nominee, Mr Wolokolie, of academic fraud. In a Facebook post, he said the nominee could not have been accredited by the Liberia Institute of Certified Public Accountants (LICPA).
Verdict: False! Officials of LICPA have debunked Martin Kollie’s claim. Also, Section 14, subsection 2 (a), of the LICPA Act authorises the institution to grant “Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) to members completing professional education exams prescribed by the council.”
Full Text
Activist Martin Kollie, a Liberian based in the Netherlands, claimed that President Weah’s Commissioner General nominee, Samora Wolokolie, is not a Certified Public Accountant. According to him, Mr Wolokolie’s claim to have been accredited by the Liberia Institute of Certified Public Accountants (LICPA) is fake.
Mr Kollie alleged that the Liberia Institute of Certified Public Accountants (LICPA) lacks the authority to grant CPA qualification to any individual in Liberia. His post was meant to inform members of the Senate not to confirm Mr Wolokolie as Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority.
This is because President Weah had nominated the new Commissioner General following the death of the former head of the Revenue Authority, Thomas Doe Nah, who passed away in India amidst weeks of illness.
Since the appointment of Dr Wolokolie to the Revenue House, critics like Kollie have chided the President’s decision, stating that the nominee lacks the credentials he claimed to have in his profile.
Among other allegations, he alleged that the Commissioner General-designate’s Certified Public Accountants (CPA) papers were fake.
Dr Wolokolie served the Weah administration as Deputy Minister for Finance for fiscal affairs at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.
Ahead of his confirmation by the Liberian Senate, DUBAWA looks into the authenticity of Kollie’s claim regarding Wolokoli’s CPA academic papers.
Verification
The President of the Liberia Institute of Certified Public Accountants (LICPA), Victor Tanwone, clarified during a press conference recently in Monrovia that Kollie’s allegation against the institution and member Wolokolie is false.
Nevertheless, When DUBAWA contacted Martin Kollie about his allegation, he defended it, saying: “There is nothing like LICPA can grant CPA. Which part of the LICPA says that LICPA can grant CPA show me, please. I have read the 1993 act. You better stop joking in that country.”
However, further research showed that in 1993, through an act of Legislation, the institution was established as the “Institute of Certified Public Accountants Limited” and subsequently repealed and amended as the Liberia Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
The Institute was empowered by said Act to carry out, amongst others, these specific functions, as stated in Part 3, Section 7 of the LICPA Act.
- Set, monitor, and enforce accounting, auditing, other assurance, education, ethics, and other professional standards of general and specific application in Liberia.
- License qualified individuals and firms to engage in public accounting in Liberia.
3. Supervise the conduct of all persons, firms, and individuals who engage in public accountancy in Liberia.
In addition, section 14, subsection 2 (a), of the LICPA Act captioned “Certified Public Accountants (CPAs),” states:
An individual who completes the professional education requirements prescribed by the Council passes the appropriate qualifying professional examinations for CPA membership of the Institute, which is conducted by the Council under this Act, and completes practical training of such description and for such period as the Council may prescribe.
The LICPA, through its President, said the Institute is also licensed by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), and as a local PAO, the institute engages in training.
“We are pleased to confirm that member Wolokolie is a Certified Public Accountant.”
Conclusion
Based on our investigation and subsequent clarifications from the President of the Institute, the information provided against Mr Weah’s nominee on his CPA qualification is false.
