Monrovia, Liberia – The Weah administration’s alleged 40 million US dollar deficit in the government’s consolidated account has been denied by President Joseph Nyumah Boakai. “The report of US $40 million as the government consolidated account balance as of January 19, 2024, is not supported by the facts.”
It is documented that former President George Weah stated in his farewell speech that his administration left behind a stronger economy than the one he was given by the Ellen administration in 2018. In contrast to what former president George Weah had said, President Boakai stated at his Monday, January 29, 2024, address to the nation that the balance recorded was US$20.5 million, instead of US$40 million.
President Boakai pledged to audit and make sure that routine audits are a culture throughout all departments of government, not only the Executive, as part of his commitment to combating corruption.
The economic situation, he claimed, is concerning, and as such, laws that emphasize economic reforms that promote long-term economic growth and job creation should be put in place. Economic development decreased from 4.8 percent to 4.6 percent over the previous six years, according to the President, who also mentioned issues with job creation, poverty reduction, and economic growth.
By the end of December 2023, the percentage of inflation had increased from 7.6 percent in 2022 to 10.1 percent. During his State of the Nation address, President Boakai stated that there was a significant budget shortfall of more than US$80 million because revenue collection for 2023 was reported to be US$710.23 million but expenditures came to US$796.32 million.
“with a large number of our people experiencing ongoing unemployment and unstable economic conditions. In addition to acknowledging the suffering and annoyance that pervade our society, we must cooperate to propose and enact laws that give priority to economic changes that promote long-term economic growth and employment creation.”
“We intend to change this state of the economy by thinking “outside the box”; a paradigm shift away from reliance on primary commodity export to focusing on value addition with the private sector as the engine to drive the economy.”
President Boakai pledged that under his leadership, the promotion of Liberian entrepreneurship through increased funding will contribute to the revival of the country’s “made in Liberia” movement for equitable, sustainable growth and employment creation.
Reported by: Jenneh Borbor
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