Officials from the Central Bank of Liberia and the Ministry of Finance came under Senate questioning here to show cause for funding gaps within the Health Sector.
By Lincoln G. Peters
Capitol Hill, Monrovia, March 21, 2025: Officials from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) and the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), faced questioning from the Senate Joint Committee here on Thursday over the lack of funding to the health sector here.
The questions come on the backdrop of a warning sent to County Health Officers that they face forfeiting their budgetary allotments for the first quarter of this year, if they failed to spend same before the end of March 21-31 despite non-disbursement.
On Thursday, March 20, 2025, the Liberians Senate held a Joint Public hearing, comprising the CBL, MFDP, Ministry of Health, Civil Service Agency, Ministry of Education and Labor.
The Ministry of Finance, CBL and Health appearance was to enable them provide explanation and justifications to the delay in disbursement of funding to hospitals across the country.
The engagement also sought further clarification from MFDP and CBL regarding a memo from the Ministry of Finance through the Controller General’s office informing County Health Officers of financial reversal on funds to be appropriated.
Providing clarification, CBL Executive Governor Henry F. Saamoi, said the bank doesn’t have the rights within its policy to reverse funding paid into the account of institutions.
According to him, accounts are always open and available and can be used at any time once funded, while debunking that the CBL has role to play in reversal of County Health money.
“The CBL doesn’t have control over the account. Once the account is funded, the funds are available to the account owner all times. And so, the CBL doesn’t have any restrictions as to how long a fund should stay in an account to be used. This is not the CBL policy. That is a restriction from the Ministry of Finance and so, I think they can answer,” Mr. Saamoi said.
Responding to the question, Deputy MFDP Minister for Budget Madam Tenneh G. Brunson neither confirmed nor denied the Memo in question sent to County Health Officers.
However, according to her, as per her understanding of the Public Financial Management Law (PFM-Law), County Health Officers have up to three months after the end of the year to spend but after that period, they can’t spend on previous budget year.
Despite failing to quote or provide the section of the PFM-Law, being reference, she further indicated that with the law, it provides that fund deposited in the account of the County Health Team should be spent between March 21-31, adding that anything beyond that period, the money will be reversed to government.
” Now, my assumption is that the premise for which the CAG (Comptroller and Accountant General) wrote that communication to the County Health Officers, is that they have up to that time to spend and after that, all the money will be reversed. There are some commitments to pay and so, when the money is paid, they can settle those services. I don’t have answer to the question as to why if the money is paid two days to the deadline since we have not paid. I don’t have answer because I’m not sure about the details,” she concluded.
Meanwhile, the answer provided by the Deputy Minister created more concerns and questions than solution, as senators expressed disappointment and dissatisfaction regarding the Ministry failure to pay County Health Officers fund for operations within the health sector.
The senators wondered how the Ministry of Finance would uphold such regulations when in fact the Ministry has not or is yet to make full payment for the 2024 budget period for which the grace period ends this March in keeping with Ministry of Finance regulation.
Furthermore, senators termed the response from Deputy Minister Brunson as uncleared on grounds that she has stayed too long at the Ministry to be responding to questions in such manner and even unable to quote sections of the PFM-LAW. -Edited by Othello B. Garblah
