MONROVIA — Auditor General P. Garswa Jackson, Sr. opens Monrovia to 26 of Africa’s top financial watchdogs Monday, as Liberia hosts the continent’s most high-stakes public audit gathering for the first time in the GAC’s history.
The assembly, convened under the African Organization of English-speaking Supreme Audit Institutions, known as AFROSAI-E, runs Monday through Friday at the EJS Ministerial Complex, bringing together the continent’s top public finance watchdogs to review audit standards, strengthen institutional independence, and advance the use of data and technology in government accountability.
AG Jackson was elected unopposed as chairman of the ECOWAS Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions in Accra last October, after delivering a presentation that drew wide commendation from his peers on Liberia’s Audit Follow-up Mechanism, a system designed in line with international auditing principles to ensure that audit recommendations are systematically tracked, monitored and acted upon. The mechanism includes a corrective action plan, an audit recommendation tracker, follow-up dashboards, and structured collaboration with the Public Accounts Committee, the Internal Audit Agency, and the Ministry of Finance. His colleagues voted to have the tools contextualized and adopted across member nations.
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“This is an opportunity to showcase Liberia’s progress in audit reform and to learn from our peers across Africa,” AG Jackson said. “Strong audit institutions are the backbone of good governance and because of what we have done as a Supreme Auditing Institution of Liberia, we are proud to host our colleagues from across Africa.”
The conference opens with a plenary session Monday drawing more than 100 international and local guests. AG Jackson will formally open the program with an overview of the GAC’s contributions to Liberia’s anti-corruption effort. AFROSAI-E Chairperson and Kenyan Auditor General Nancy Gathungu is also expected to address delegates, and President Joseph Boakai is scheduled to speak on behalf of the Liberian government on transparency and accountability.
Two prominent Liberians are expected to deliver papers at the Strategic Review Meetings: former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former Finance Minister Dr. Antoinette Sayeh.
The five-day program is structured around two core working sessions. A two-day Governing Board Meeting will be held at a local hotel in Monrovia, followed by a two-day Strategic Review Meeting at the Ministerial Complex featuring panel discussions on audit-related priorities. A closing excursion to the Marshall area is scheduled for Friday, May 22.
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AG Jackson told a radio audience ahead of the opening that deliberations will cover strategic priorities under AFROSAI-E’s 2025-2029 Strategic Plan, peer review mechanisms, capacity building and strategies to address emerging risks in public finance management. He said the conference will also highlight Liberia’s growing role in advancing transparency and good governance across the continent.
Senior representatives from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Swedish and Norwegian national audit offices are expected to attend. AG Jackson said invitations were also extended to Liberia’s anti-graft institutions, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and the offices of the Vice President, House Speaker and Senate President Pro Tempore.
By the close of Friday’s session, delegates are expected to adopt resolutions on the AFROSAI-E strategic plan, commit to measurable improvements in SAI independence and public finance oversight, strengthen regional audit cooperation and issue a joint communiqué aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
AFROSAI-E is the English-language subgroup of AFROSAI, the African branch of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. Its 26-member Governing Board — comprising the heads of member supreme audit institutions — meets annually and is the organization’s supreme authority. Its mission is to support and collaborate with member SAIs to enhance their institutional capacity to fulfill their audit mandates, with the stated goal of making a measurable difference in citizens’ lives.
