Amidst Resource Shortage, Finance Minister Mandates Strict Adherence to Budget Expenditure Priorities

Monrovia, Liberia: Amidst the acute scarcity of financial resources, Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has distributed a firm command to spending entities of the Government of Liberia to prioritize their expenditure in keeping with best practice.

In a communication signed by Minister Ngafuan and dispatched to Ministries, Agencies, and Commissions (MACs), the Finance Ministry underlined the importance of MACs to be mindful in their spending processes owing to the shortage of resources.

Released on Thursday, February 20, 2025, the memo reminded heads of government’s spending entities to remain mindful of the scarceness of financial resources as they expend their allotments in the 2025 fiscal year budgets.

Ministry of Finance memo: “Scarcity of resources is a reality, and all heads or senior management of spending entities must not lose sight of this reality. You’re advised to prioritize the priorities.”

The memo warned the government's spending entities to follow their approved budgets for Fiscal Year 2025 and exercise caution in its execution process.

The Ministry also urged MACs to avoid overstretching their budgets early in the year, cautioning that no complementary resources would be made available if budget lines are exhausted prematurely.

“Your budget is for the entire 12 months of 2025. So, you’re strongly advised NOT to execute your budget as if it were a six-month or one-quarter budget,” the Ministry notified MACs.

As captured in the memo, the Finance Ministry also reminded heads of MACs that the 2025 budget, which totals US$880.7 million, remained a forecast until a time when actual incomes are generated. 

According to the Ministry, this US$880.7 million accounts for a 19.2% increase over the 2024 budget but is short over US$2 billion in subsidy requests submitted by the government's spending entities.

Notwithstanding the growth in the budget, several government entities have already submitted requests for additional funds to address unforeseen spending priorities.

The Finance Ministry noted that with only US$3.26 million allocated as an incidental reserve in the budget, the available unallocated funds are inadequate to cover the numerous unforeseen demands that may arise throughout the year.