Liberia: Liberia's Biggest Budget Rests On a Revenue Record That Won't Repeat

What the report says

Liberia’s President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has submitted a proposed 2027 national budget of US$1.538 billion, which would be the largest ever presented to the Legislature, according to The Liberian Investigator as distributed by AllAfrica. Finance Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan delivered the draft to House Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon on Friday in Monrovia. The proposal is about 23 percent higher than the budget lawmakers approved for 2026 and is being presented under the theme “A Growing Budget for Bigger Impact.”

The article says the new spending plan is being built on a revenue year that surpassed US$1 billion for the first time, but much of that gain came from a one-time US$200 million payment from ArcelorMittal Liberia that will not recur. That matters because many of the new commitments in the draft are ongoing obligations, including salary increases, new hiring, and pension-related costs. The Finance Ministry’s summary did not provide a full revenue projection or a detailed financing breakdown for the coming year.

Key spending priorities include higher pay for civil servants, teachers, police, and soldiers, along with funding for health, education, school feeding, and specific projects such as a children’s referral hospital and hepatitis B response efforts. The budget also includes money for the national football team and commercial motorcyclists. Health would rise to US$135.8 million and education to US$163.5 million, though health would still fall below the 15 percent benchmark set in the Abuja Declaration.

The report also notes that Liberia continues to face structural revenue issues, including tax exemptions and arrears to the national social security agency. It says lawmakers have not yet seen the full budget book, so the final funding mix and spending details remain unclear.