Monrovia – Senator Amara Konneh of Gbarpolu County, Chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee, has raised critical issues about Liberia’s $1.2 billion draft finances, urging the Senate to withstand passing the finances on the mixture degree with out detailed scrutiny.
By Selma Lomax [email protected]
In a press release following the Home of Representatives’ approval of the finances, Senator Konneh emphasised {that a} rushed course of may compromise transparency, weaken institutional safeguards, and undermine the supply of important growth tasks.
“If no different physique will, we should lead a deliberate assessment of the sectoral allocations, funding commitments, and institutional safeguards earlier than the finances is handed, not after. In doing so, we’ll safeguard the pursuits of the Liberian folks and strengthen the President’s hand in efficiently implementing his authorities’s growth agenda,” Senator Konneh wrote.
In his publish, the senator first congratulated President Joseph Boakai and Finance Minister Augustine Ngafuan for securing a second Compact for Liberia, noting that at a time when Official Improvement Help is declining, the achievement is important. “First, I need to congratulate President Joseph Boakai and his workforce led by Finance Minister Augustine Ngafuan for getting a second Compact for Liberia. At a time when Official Improvement Help is declining, a second Compact is important,” he stated, highlighting the significance of worldwide help for Liberia’s growth priorities.
Turning to the finances itself, Senator Konneh stated that the FY26 draft finances, submitted on November 7, 2025, displays progress in Liberia’s public monetary administration system but in addition requires cautious oversight.
He harassed that patterns from the earlier fiscal yr illustrate critical dangers, noting that funds allotted for key tasks underneath the Public Sector Funding Plan have been steadily diverted to unrelated recurrent bills, undermining each statutory compliance and sectoral priorities.
He cited circumstances together with main infrastructure, schooling, and agricultural tasks that both obtained no funding or exceeded their permitted ceilings, elevating issues about fiscal self-discipline and the effectiveness of finances execution.
“The Home of Representatives’ resolution to approve the finances on the mixture degree with out inspecting the main points undermines legislative oversight and dangers misallocation of public funds,” Konneh wrote. He additional famous that state-owned enterprises failed to supply monetary information within the draft finances and expressed concern over the institution of a brand new spending class amounting to $256 million, or over 21 % of the overall finances, with unclear mechanisms for oversight. “We can’t permit a repeat of earlier fiscal indiscipline. The Senate should train its oversight authority responsibly and make sure that allocations attain their meant beneficiaries,” the senator added, emphasizing the necessity for accountability and cautious assessment.
Senator Konneh, nevertheless, maintained that with out detailed scrutiny, important dangers stay for the FY26 finances. He pointed to the historic diversion of funds, underfunding of precedence tasks, and unexplained will increase in salaries as examples of systemic weaknesses.
“Equally regarding is that State-Owned Enterprises offered no monetary information within the draft finances. In the meantime, salaries elevated by $13 million with no enhance in full-time workers or details about pay raises,” he wrote. He urged the Senate to satisfy its constitutional oversight position, emphasizing the historic nature of the FY26 finances and the potential for it to ship significant advantages to Liberians if rigorously reviewed. “It is a historic finances. We should work with the Government to make it transformative for the Liberians,” he stated.
In response to Senator Konneh’s publish, S. Emmanuel Lloyd Sr., finances advisor on the Ministry of Finance and Improvement Planning, pushed again on the senator’s characterization of finances reallocations. Lloyd cautioned that whereas Liberia faces actual fiscal challenges, oversight should be grounded in legislation, proof, and institutional duty reasonably than alarmist rhetoric.
“The talk over budgetary transfers must be grounded in legislation, proof, and institutional duty, not in hyperbole. Liberia’s fiscal challenges are actual, and so they require sober evaluation and constructive oversight. As a senior senator and former steward of the nation’s funds, Senator Konneh’s voice carries weight. With that weight comes an obligation to make clear reasonably than confuse, to teach reasonably than alarm,” Lloyd stated.
Lloyd emphasised that budgetary transfers are routine devices of fiscal administration underneath the Public Monetary Administration Act, explaining that reallocations usually reply to emergencies, donor funding changes, or unanticipated authorities obligations.
He cited earlier fiscal years to contextualize the FY25 transfers, noting that whereas some transfers obtained important public consideration, the precise degree of reallocations in FY25 was modest and inside statutory thresholds.
“When evaluating sectoral funding, it’s crucial to contemplate each home and donor financing and the way sources are programmed for execution. Selective interpretations of funding gaps can mislead reasonably than inform,” Lloyd stated. He harassed that reallocations usually fund crucial priorities similar to by-elections, reburials of former leaders, debt funds, and pressing well being interventions, and that these shifts don’t represent monetary mismanagement.
Lloyd additionally addressed the senator’s issues concerning the new finances class for Basic Authorities Expenditure, noting that the classification is meant to boost transparency. “Displaying Basic Claims individually from the operational bills of spending entities is a clear method of presenting the finances numbers.
Lloyd cautioned that misrepresenting such commonplace accounting practices dangers undermining knowledgeable public dialogue and distorting perceptions of fiscal self-discipline.
With the Senate now positioned to assessment the finances, the end result will decide whether or not deliberate scrutiny or aggregate-level approval prevails in shaping Liberia’s fiscal future.
