PROJECTING 5.1% PERCENT GROWTH
Monrovia, Liberia – The acting minister of finance and Development Planning, Hon. Anthony Myers, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism (MICAT) press briefing informed the public that, the growth rate of the Liberian economy is expected to be 5.1%.
Minister Myers stated that the robust performance of important government sectors will propel economic growth. He mentioned the mining, agriculture, and fishing industries, but mentioned that nothing about how higher economic activity will sustain the medium-term average growth rate of 5.6%.
According to Minister Myers, this is because the nation’s electrical supply has improved, the mining industry has grown significantly, the services sector has expanded, and development partners have made significant infrastructural expenditures.
He stated that the country’s growth rate is anticipated to pick up speed to 5.8% in 2025 and made reference to the structural reforms intended to maintain and boost the growth rate.
The government is dedicated to enacting structural changes in important sectors like trade, transportation, energy, and financial services. The reform aim to create a more favorable climate for economic activity and investment.
Inflation has drastically slowed down as a measure of economic success, Minister Myers noted. By the end of 2024, inflation is predicted to be 7.0%, indicating a stabilization of prices in the Liberian market, he added.
Estimating that by 2027, the rate of inflation will have further decreased to 5.0%., Acting Minister Myers underlined that tax collections are expected, citing the Liberia Revenue Authority’s overall receipts of UD$342.6 million as of the end of the June 2024 fiscal year.
While revealing that the primary sources of revenue were taxes on income and profits (US$137.2 million) and taxes on international trade (US$108.8 million), he also indicated that cash on hand was $315.4 million and interim receipts were $27.2 million.
Regarding spending, Minister Myers explained that as of June of 2024, $255.4 million of the $315.4 million that the LRA had collected had been distributed by the government.
Giving specifics about President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s efforts to decentralize the state’s finances, he stated that the Ministry of Finance and Development, in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior and other partners, recently confirmed that the provisions of the Revenue Sharing Law, which apply to County Service Centers nationwide, stipulate that the state will keep forty percent of the revenues earned.
According to Minister Myers, as part of the administrative decentralization that is now being carried out with the creation of County Councils, President Boakai ordered the execution of fiscal decentralization.
Minister Myers announced that the creation of a Local Government Finance Commission, the job of the commission would be to establish yearly expenditure restrictions for the county in order to further the President’s goal of fully implementing the Local Government Act.
According to him, ten ministries and agencies have finally reached a consensus on the allocation of funds, which will bolster county coffers by enabling each county to get checks and vouchers that can be processed locally.
The Minister also revealed that the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning has already set up plans for consultations, which are anticipated to start soon, and that major efforts are being made to prepare the National Development Plan, Public Sector Investment Plan, and District Development Plan.
Acting Minister Myers informed the public that the Ministry of Finance and the General Audit Committee had completed plans for the audit of the Ministry of Finance and Development.
Reported by: Joseph Kerkula
Contact: +231777376826
