Monrovia – The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) is within weeks of collecting US$1 billion in domestic revenue for the first time in the country’s 179-year history, Commissioner General James Dorbor Jallah announces as the LRA officially launches a new five-year Corporate Strategic Plan (CSP).
By Emmanuel Weedee-Conway
The CSP 2025–2029, which aimed at making Liberia fiscally self-sufficient, was launched Wednesday at the EJS Ministerial Complex in Congo Town during a ceremony attended by government officials, development partners, business leaders, and taxpayers.
More Than a Number
LRA Commissioner General Cllr. James Dorbor Jallah told the gathering that the milestone represents more than a number.
“179 years ago… they declared Liberia free. They did not live to see her self-supporting. That is the unfinished sentence of our history. And that is the sentence this generation has been asked to complete. Because freedom declared is not the same as freedom financed,” the LRA boss stated.
He presented revenue figures showing steady growth: from $464 million in 2014 to $699 million in 2024.
In FY2025, he asserted that the LRA collected $848 million against a target of $804.6 million. As of Tuesday, August 18, Jallah disclosed to the gathering that domestic revenue stood at US$912 million with more than four months left in the fiscal year.
“The increase in our domestic revenue over the last two years alone exceeds the combined growth of the previous 13 years,” Jallah noted. According to him, the domestic revenue-to-GDP ratio has also risen from 13.4% in 2023 to a projected 16.3% this year.
A Toolbox
But he cautioned that $1 billion is not a trophy, rather it is a “toolbox” for clinics, classrooms and roads.
“That billion dollars is being assembled dollar by dollar, receipt by receipt, by Liberians,” he furthered, citing market women, importers, customs officers and tax staff across the country.
Five goals to Sprint In The Billions
The new strategic plan, CG Jallah indicated, is built around five goals – effective and transparent law administration, voluntary compliance, institutional building, technology and data use, and deeper partnerships.
“We are moving from traditional processes to modern systems; from fragmented information to integrated data; from reactive administration to intelligence-led administration.” Jallah said.
He also announced tough internal reforms, revealing that more than 40 staff have been dismissed for fraud and unethical conduct, adding: “Integrity is what you do when a door is closed.”
The LRA boss listed infrastructure gaps that must be fixed, including 12 days and 19 hours to clear a container at the Freeport of Monrovia – a timeline the Authority now commits to cut to three days.
He also pledged to rebuild rural offices and construct a modern headquarters. However, to fund the transformation, the LRA is seeking an amendment to its Act to allocate 5% of tax revenue collected to its operations and modernization.
“This is not a request for a larger budget. It is an investment in the institution that generates the resources every institution spends,” CG Jallah explained.
‘We Must Sprint in The Billions’
Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan officially launched the plan. He recalled skepticism when government submitted a US$1.2 billion draft budget last year. Critics, he revealed, called the team “prayer-band economists” and “voodoo economists.”
“Today, we are knocking on heaven’s door. Because by September 2026, we will hit the $1 billion mark in domestic revenue. This is an achievement of the Liberian people,” Ngafuan declared.
The Minister proposed a tweak to the plan’s theme from “Mobilizing Domestic Resources for Fiscal Sustainability” to “Sprinting in the Billions.”_
“We must sprint in the billions. And when we cross, we must commit to stay in the billions,” the Minister explained, adding that government is already preparing a $1.92 billion pro-forma budget for 2027.
Ngafuan pledged continued policy and budgetary support to the LRA, and promised to review incentive and bonus systems for revenue-generating institutions including SOEs.
Min. Ngafuan thanked the Legislature and Judiciary for supporting revenue laws and enforcement.
“Let us move from strategy to implementation, and from implementation to results. We will soon be in the billions. We must
remain in the billions. We must sprint in the billions,” the Finance and Development Planning Minister declared.
