Liberia: Ngafuan Launches Fy2027 Budget Process, Warns Against Poor Planning, Unplanned Spending

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a report by The Liberian Investigator, reported that Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has opened work on the country’s Fiscal Year 2027 national budget in Monrovia. The process is being framed around fiscal discipline, strategic allocation of resources and alignment with the government’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development. Ngafuan reminded ministries, agencies and commissions that the Executive is required under public finance rules to send the draft budget to the Legislature by Oct. 31 each year.

According to the report, Ngafuan pointed to recent gains in public financial management, including the approval of the 2024 and 2025 budgets before the start of their fiscal years, which he said improved predictability and budget execution. He cited domestic revenue of nearly US$700 million in 2024 and more than US$840 million in 2025, and defended the US$1.2 billion FY2026 budget as on track despite earlier criticism.

The minister’s central warning was directed at agencies that seek extra money soon after budgets are passed. He said institutions requesting additional funds will first be expected to reorganize priorities inside their existing allocations, rather than depend on transfers from other entities. He also urged agency heads to be directly involved in budget preparation and to justify new proposals against work already set out in the government’s development plan.

The report said Deputy Budget Minister Tanneh Brunson called for realistic, evidence-based submissions, with priorities including infrastructure, health, agriculture, education, private sector development, youth empowerment and justice. Civil Service Agency Director General Josiah Joekai said nationwide manpower hearings will be held to incorporate staffing needs into the FY2027 process and limit later compensation-related requests.