EDITORIAL: CUT DOWN ON RECURRENT SPENDING TO MITIGATE THE SHOCK OF DONOR’S FATIQUE

LIBERIA CURRENTLY HOLDS the record as the world's 8th poorest nation, as the country still grapples with the backlashes of massive corruption, which have fuelled the dilapidated infrastructure, unemployment, poor healthcare, weak education system, and lack of stable electricity, amongst others. While Liberia is revered as Africa’s oldest republic, the 43,000-square-mile West African country is also described as one of the continent’s poorest countries, with a volatile growth trajectory marked by challenges of fragility.

WITH A GROSS Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of L$ 1,900, nearly one million Liberians live in extreme poverty, while 2.5 million live in absolute poverty, and almost 28% of Liberia’s population is struggling to make ends meet, living below the international poverty line.

THE PRIMARY SOCIETAL problem for this gloomy picture is systemic corruption, wasteful spending, a lack of transparency and accountability, and the culture of impunity. Like this is nothing to concern the Unity Party (Rescue Mission) led government, the National Budget for Fiscal Year 2025, signed into law by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. on January 6, 2025, totaling 880,661,874 million United States dollars, paints a story of excessive wasteful spending, illogical priorities, and what seems to be a conspicuous dereliction of the government’s duty to provide social basic services for ordinary people.

AT A TIME when donor’s fatigue is visible, example by the cancellation of all United States Agency of International Development's (USAID) funded projects, and when Liberia should be seriously advancing Public Sector Investment Projects (PSIP) to create jobs, which in return will boost economic growth, a whopping 773.95 million United States dollars, amounting to 87.9%, has been allocated to recurrent expenses, which we would consider wasteful spending.

How CAN THE 8^th poorest country in the world apportion 87.9% of its national cake for salaries, benefits, fuel and lubricants, foreign travel, luxury cars, entertainment, and allowances for a handful of politicians be considered a serious nation?

WHAT SIGNIFICANCE IS a meager 106.72 million United States dollars (12.1%) in the National Budget for Fiscal Year 2025 that PSIP can achieve in tackling Liberia’s poor infrastructure, fragile healthcare system, messy education, and unemployment, among others?

WHY IS THERE a dual jump in President Joseph Boakai’s budget from 1.7 million United States dollars in the 2024 National Budget to 3.4 million United States dollars in the 2025 Fiscal Year National Budget? Is there any rationale behind the increment of Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung’s budget from 3.7 million United States dollars in the 2024 fiscal year national budget to 3.9 million United States dollars? Why should Senate Pro-Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence have her annual budget increased from 1 million United States dollars to 1.2 million United States dollars and Deputy Speaker Thomas Fallah from US$645,000 to 1.2 million United States dollars? Are these overwhelming hikes justifiable in the world’s eighth poorest country, where more than 60% of its citizens swim in poverty? 

THE OUTLOOK OF THE Fiscal Year 2025 National Budget doesn’t only represent greed; it also portrays betrayal of the Liberian people who yearned for this much-heralded rescue mission. While ordinary Liberians endure the harsh reality of poverty with the shortage of social basic services on a daily basis, meanwhile, public officials are pillaging the national coffers living lavishly in opulence.

THE SCANTY APPORTION to PSIP is particularly concerning. With only 12.1% of the budget dedicated to PSIP, the Unity Party government is failing to address Liberia’s infrastructure deficit, improve healthcare and education systems, and create jobs. This abandonment extends the cycle of poverty and underdevelopment.

THE SUSPENSION OF U.S. aid, effective January 20, 2025, has further exacerbated Liberia’s economic woes. President Donald Trump’s criticism of American foreign aid to Liberia, particularly a US$1.5 million allocation for voter confidence, underscores the precariousness of Liberia’s reliance on external support. The freeze has disrupted critical development projects, including a US$70 million USAID-backed initiative to modernize Liberia’s tax system. 

IN A NUTSHELL, this is a wakeup call to the Unity Party-led Rescue Mission government to cut down on recurrent spending as a way to mitigate the impact of donor’s fatigue.