By Bridgett Milton
At long last the Minister of Finance and Development Planning has submitted the Draft National Budget to the House of Representatives, totaling US$625.57 million for fiscal year 2024. The submission comes three months late when the fiscal instrument was expected.
During the presentation here on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, Deputy Minister of Finance for Budget and Development Planning, Tanneh Geraldine Brunson, said the amount of US$623.14 constituting 99.6 percent is projected as domestic revenue, while US$ 2.43 million, or 0.39 percent, is projected to come from external resources.
According to Deputy Minister Brunson, total proposed expenditure for FY 2024 is US$625.57 million, in consonance with the projected resource envelope.
Recurrent component of expenditure is US$ 594.54 million, or 95 percent of the total proposed expenditure, while the total cost of Public Sector Investment Projects is projected at US$31.03 million, or 5 percent of the total proposed expenditure.
Minister Brunson explains that first claims on available resources are focused on those obligatory expenditure categories that must be satisfied. In this regard, a total amount of US$ 594.54 million earmarked for recurrent expenditure has been allocated and guided by the following order of priority: Debt Service (Domestic & External), Compensation for Employees, Grants, Goods and Services for Education and Health Sectors, among others.
She notes that the submission process is in pursuant to Section 17.1 of the Public Financial Management Act, covering the period from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024.
“Honorable Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives, while this budget is a reflection of the programs and priorities of the outgoing administration, it should not be unexpected that the incoming administration may institute measures to tweak, recalibrate, or even recast the programs and priorities herein to indicate policy change, hopefully in the spirit of continuity in governance”, she adds.
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At the same time, she apologizes for the delay in the submission, which she attributes to national preoccupation and distraction associated with the 2023 very competitive elections.
“In the wake of mounting pressures, especially national debt burden, and recurrent expenditures, only critical cross-cutting national programs and projects in three sectors have been proposed under the Public Sector Investment Program (PSIP) segment of the budget. Among these is the National Road Fund under the Infrastructure and Basic Services Sector”, the Minister explains.
Receiving the budget, Speaker Bhofal Chambers calls for an automatic scheduling of the budget process.
“As you know and we accept the apologies, this instrument should have been brought here three months ago, so that we would have carefully looked at the process and ensured diligence”, he says.
Speaker Chambers assures that the Legislature would do the utmost to ensure passage in the interest of the country and its people.
He underscores that the body will pay keen attention to the Supreme Court’s ruling, instructing the government to settle arrears of former legislators and payment to victims of shipwrecks under the review process in maintaining coordination amongst the three branches of government.
The US$625.57 million draft national budget is the last from the outgoing administration of President George Weah, who lost the 2023 election to main challenger, Ambassador Joseph Nyumah Boakai. Mr. Boakai formally takes office as President of Liberia in January 2024. Editing by Jonathan Browne
