AS ACTING FINANCE MINISTER ANTHONY MYERS THROWS MORE LIGHT ON FY2024 DRAFT NATIONAL BUDGET.
Monrovia, Liberia – Hon. Anthony Myers, the deputy minister of finance and development planning for fiscal policy in Liberia, has reaffirmed the government’s strong commitment to servicing its external and domestic obligations under the Boakai administration.
The total debt service, subscription, and other payables for FY2024 are projected to be US$217.28 million, a 117.69 percent increase over the FY2023 forecast of US$99.81 million, according to the government’s public debt service portfolio as outlined in the administration’s recently submitted draft national budget to the national Legislature. Nonetheless, US$129.00 million has been set aside for debt servicing.
Comparing this to the US$99.81 million FY2023 estimate, there has been a 29.26% increase. In addition, as of December 2023, the total debt stock was US$2,337.26 billion, of which US$1,022.00 billion (43.73 percent) was domestic debt and US$1,315.26 billion (56.27 percent) was external debt, according to the ministry of finance.
Minister Myers stated that the government’s commitment to funding the debt accrued by other government institutions was the primary cause of the rise in the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning’s financial allocation. He explained that this is the case since funding the undertakings and obligations of other governmental bodies falls under the purview of the Ministry of Finance.
He stated that the rise in the Ministry’s funding in the draft National Budget for FY2024 was primarily due to the provision of US$129 million.
Minister Myers went on to clarify that the Ministry of Finance and Development is the government agency in charge of managing debt. He emphasized that the government wants to be “responsible” to both domestic and foreign partners, which is why it is boosting debt servicing.
Nonetheless, paying down the debt owed to domestic banks, for instance, would support the commercial banks’ capital portfolio and keep them more viable, averting their collapse.
He continued by that paying down the government’s external debt will make room for the funding required to carry out its five-year development plan.
Speaking on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts, and Tourism (MICAT), regular press briefing, he led a group of senior managers from the Finance Ministry, which included Madam Tanneh Brunson, Deputy Minister of Budget and Development Planning, Mr. Bill McGill Jones, Deputy Minister of Administration, and Madam Sarah Mulbah.
Deputy Minister Myers also revealed an improved picture for the nation’s economy, which is expected to grow by an average of 6.4 percent over the medium term (2025–2027) and to reach 5.3 percent in 2024. This represents an improvement above the 4.6 percent real GDP growth in 2023, which was driven by the increase in the manufacturing, services, and mining industries.
The Draft FY2024 National Budget was prepared using a number of macroeconomic assumptions, which were further discussed by the Finance Ministry’s Deputy Minister of Fiscal Policy.
Favorable GDP growth rates, projected increases in imports as a result of the expected rise in major commodity output in all economic sectors, projected increases in government revenue as a result of the anticipated rise in mining, manufacturing, services, and primary commodity output, moderation of inflation, medium-term exchange rate stability, and so on were among other aspect of the budget.
Recently presented to the national Legislature, the 2024 draft national Draft National Budget represents a resource envelope of The overall estimated resource envelope for the fiscal year 2024 is $692,409,245.53, or six hundred ninety-two million, four hundred nine thousand, two hundred forty-five dollars, and fifty-three cents. 28 percent, or LR41.1 billion in Liberian dollars, is made up of local money, and the remaining 72 percent, or US$500.4 million, is made up of real US dollars. US$1:213.82 LRD is the anticipated yearly average exchange rate.
The estimated total revenue from mobilizing domestic resources is $649.9 million, or 93.9%, of which $42.4 million, or 6.1 percent, comes from foreign resources, according to the ministry of friendship and development planning.
