Monrovia, Liberia – President Joseph Boakia has asked the 55th Legislature to authorize him to spend US$41,300,000 for the month of February in an effort to prevent a government shutdown.
In a message, President Boakai stated that in order to prevent the government from shutting down, it is wise for the Legislature to approve his request to increase funding by US$41.3 million while the Executive gets ready to present the budget.
According to the President, government operations must continue to prevent a shutdown because the draft budget for the fiscal year 2024 was returned and is currently being finalized for resubmission. “We are requesting permission to spend US$41,300,000.00, as shown in the attached complete budget, in light of the aforementioned information. The government’s operations in February 2024 will be funded by this sum.”
The request from President Boakai is made knowing that the legislative body has not yet received a new budget for 2024 to be enacted. The proposed budget that the Weah-Taylor administration had produced was sent back to the executive for review and realignment, as the House voted last month.
In response to a correspondence from Representative Ellen Attoh Wreh of Margibi County District #3, the decision was made to return the 2024 fiscal budget to the executive for realignment. The decision was made by the plenary on the fifth day of the first quarter of the 55th National Legislature’s first session.
The House of Representatives received the country’s draft national budget, which totaled US$625.57 million for the fiscal year 2024, late last year from the Ministry of Finance.
Tanneh Geraldine Brunson, the deputy finance minister for budget and development planning, gave information on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, during the submission process. She stated that domestic revenue is predicted to account for 99.6% of the budget, or US$623.14 million, while external resources are expected to account for 0.39 percent, or US$2.43 million.
The entire proposed spending for FY 2024, according to Deputy Minister Brunson, is US$625.57 million, of which 95% is earmarked for recurring expenses (US$594.54 million) and 5% is for public sector investment projects (US$31.03 million).
As to her explanation, the initial claims regarding the available resources are concentrated on mandatory expenditure categories, which comprise Debt Service (both Domestic and External), Employee Compensation, Grants, and Goods and Services for the Education and Health Sectors.
For the period of January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, the submission procedure was in accordance with Section 17.1 of the Public Financial Management Act. The incoming administration might implement measures to modify the budget in accordance with policy changes, Deputy Minister Brunson said.
It is still not certain if the Legislature will receive the proposed budget. The President seems to be referring to a provision in the Financial Management Law that requires the government to use one-twelfth of the previous budget in the event that the budget for the current fiscal year is delayed in passing, even though he did not specifically state this in his speech.
In a unanimous vote, the House asked its Ways, Means, and Finance committee to examine the President’s appeal and provide recommendations to the House.
