Budget suffers US$70m shortfall

Less than six months toend the fiscal year, reports gathered from the Capitol Building have disclosed that the Liberian Government has experienced another budget shortfall to the tone of US$70m.

 Grand Kru County Senator Peter Coleman confirmed the report, saying information available to him was that the current national budget has incurred about US$70m. Senator Coleman described such economic situation as scaring and appalling for the already troubling economy of the country.

Speaking in Plenary on Thursday in the Chambers of the Liberian Senate, Dr. Coleman – also a member of the Senate’s Statutory Committee on Budget, Ways, Means, Finance and Development Planning, indicated that the shortfall in the current budget is something that must worry every Liberian. Last year, the Liberian economy was in red for the third time, with a loss of US$47m at that time. The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning is reported to have alerted heads of government ministries and agencies to tighten their belts for the long haul. 

Speaking about the hardship being faced by Liberians in the country, Coleman intimated that despite the US$70m shortfall, Liberians, on a daily basis, were being downsized, adding to the already high unemployment. 

By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor -Edited by George Barpeen