Monrovia, Liberia – The House leadership has threatened to take legal action against the executive branch in response to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s decision to send the draft national budget to the presiding officer through the chief clerk of the House of Representatives.
To the astonishment of many, the Ministry of Information announced in a news release on Monday, November 18, 2024, that the President had sent the Liberian Legislature the draft Fiscal Year 2025 National Budget, which totaled US$851.8 million, via the chief clerk’s office.
The draft budget includes US$18.8 million in contingent revenue and US$833 million in core revenue, according to a statement. The ministry reported that the Chief Clerk sent the draft financial document to the Presiding Officer of the House of Representatives.
The projected budget is 15.3% more than the total amount of US$738.9 million allocated in the 2024 Recast Budget, according to the Ministry of Information. It includes monies to support the primary goals of the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID), additional governmental obligations, and debt repayment.
In order to facilitate efficient implementation beginning in January 2025, President Boakai urged lawmakers to make sure the budget is promptly reviewed and approved. Section 17.1 of the 2019 Amendment and Restatement of the Public Financial Management Act of 2009 is in compliance with the submission.
Confusion was exacerbated by the Ministry of Information’s announcement, which failed to specify which house got the proposed budget. According to reports, the Chief Clerk, who normally deals with the Speaker’s proposals, is ill. She and her deputy, Comick Chea, attended sessions in the main chamber, which Speaker Koffa presided over, prior to her absence. Her deputy, however, has subsequently joined the joint chamber’s majority caucus.
The Chief Clerk’s deputy may have been given the budget while she was away. Since the Majority group is actively pursuing House business, they had previously declared that they will be supplied with all communications to the Chief Clerk. According to their argument, they are holding sessions lawfully and meeting quorum with the number 43.
