Capitol Hill, Monrovia – The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning has submitted the FY2024 Draft Recast Budget to the House of Representatives, following concerns over the original budget’s financial integrity.
On Friday, August 16, Acting Finance Minister Anthony Myers presented the recast budget, explaining that the revisions were necessary due to the performance of the budget in the first six months of the year. He emphasized the need to rebalance the budget to reflect revenue performance and ensure the protection of critical expenditures that are priorities for the country.
“This recast is based on our observation of the budget performance in the first six months of the year and the need to rebalance the budget in response to revenue performance, while safeguarding critical expenditures that are priorities for the country,” Minister Myers stated.
Upon receiving the Draft Recast Budget on behalf of the 55th Legislature, House Speaker Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa urged the Ministry to provide all necessary supporting documents to facilitate the Ways, Means, and Finance Committee’s scrutiny of the recast budget.
“We have received this communication on behalf of the President, with several notations, even as we accept it,” Speaker Koffa remarked.
In an effort to improve the budgetary process and address allegations of budget tampering, Speaker Koffa announced that the House has taken additional measures. These include the formation of a special investigative committee to probe the alleged budget alterations.
“The first step is to understand and resolve the issue of budget tampering,” Speaker Koffa said. “As you present this budget, we also expect reports on budget outturn and any off-budget spending.”
The special investigative committee is chaired by Bong County Electoral District 4 Representative Robert Wongbe, with Montserrado County Electoral District 7 Representative Emmanuel Dahn serving as co-chair. Other members include Reps. Thomas Romeo Quioh, Sekou Kanneh, and Sumo Mulbah.
Speaker Koffa reaffirmed the Legislature’s commitment to fighting corruption and upholding the highest standards of transparency and accountability in government.
The FY2024 Budget, initially approved by the 55th Legislature in April, totaled US$738,859,827—an increase of 6.7 percent from the US$692 million version submitted by the Executive through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.
The recast of the FY2024 national budget comes as the government reported that revenue generation is exceeding expectations. During an open plenary hearing of the House of Representatives in June, Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) Commissioner General Dorbor Jallah announced that the agency was surpassing its revenue targets.
Commissioner General Jallah stated that out of the total approved budget of US$738,860,000, the LRA has collected US$316,449,000, or 43 percent. This amount exceeds the mid-year target of US$308,612,000. He further clarified that the revenue generated thus far has come entirely from domestic sources, with the remaining US$434,368,000 still to be collected.
