Monrovia, Liberia – The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) on behalf of the Liberian government has presented the proposed recast budget for Fiscal Year 2024 to the legislature. A draft budget of US$721.5 million was reportedly delivered to the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representative on Friday, August 16, 2024, via the Vice President’s office, according to an MFDP.
Acting Minister of Finance and Development Planning Anthony G. Myers presented the draft budget and notified the Speaker and Vice President separately that the budget is based on the performance of the past six months, on behalf of President Joseph N. Boakai.
“It gives me great pleasure to offer the FY 2024 draft recast budget. Minister Myers stated, this recast addresses revenue outcomes and prioritizes critical expenditures for the country, drawing on the budget’s performance over the first half of the year.”
“We thought we needed to first rebalance the budget in order to avoid budget shortfalls and secondly to protect critical expenditure lines that are key national priorities,” stated the Acting Finance Minister.
Jeremiah Kpan Koung, the Vice President of Liberia and Senate President, expressed gratitude to the MFDP team for the submission and gave them his word that the Senate will work with him to take appropriate action.
The submission was accepted by House Speaker Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa, who also spoke, saying, “We have received this communication on behalf of the President and have made many notations indicating its approval.
Speaker Koffa improved the procedure for creating the budget and announced that a committee will be formed by the Legislature to look into claims of budget manipulation. Among others, he selected Hon. Emmanuel Dahn as co-chair and Hon. Robert Wogbeh as the committee’s chair.
Speaker Koffa claimed that the purpose of his newly formed committee is to investigate and remedy any issues pertaining to the recently approved budget. Additionally, Speaker Koffai emphasized the significance of further documentation.
“We expect to receive various reports, including outturns, off-budget expenditures, and related processes.
All necessary expenditure lines, revenue forecasts, and other pertinent reports should be presented to the Ways and Means Committee Speaker Koffai said. He advised the senior management team at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning that they should send all related documents to the legislature promptly to facilitate a thorough review and ensure the completion of the process.”
