Monrovia, Liberia - Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister Amara Konneh has assured residents of Nippy Town Community that the Government remains committed in providing basic social services for all Liberians, including safe drinking water, electricity and access to good road network.

Monrovia, Liberia - The Ministry of Finance & Development Planning assures Liberians and our development partners that every measure is being taken to maintain macroeconomic stability, and ensure effective management of the economy during this difficult period as our country experiences the crippling socioeconomic impact of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

Download Draft Budget 2014/2015

Tanneh Geraldine Brunson, Deputy Minister for Budget and Development Planning, Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Republic of Liberia. She is responsible for preparing the framework and implementation of the National Budget and providing guidance and support in preparing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development plans, programs and projects. She brings to the job, significant experience in public financial management including the budget development and management policies, coordinating with all sectors, as well as, development partners on translating government plans into reality.

Career Highlights She’s currently leading a reform that seeks to promote gender equity and inclusive participation of vulnerable groups in the national development process .The Government’s focus is to make the public financial reforms and in particular, Gender Responsive Budgeting a tool for contributing towards inclusive growth. The aim is to ensure that allocation and expenditure of public finances are done in a gender responsive manner so that budget becomes a redistributive means to address entrenched gender-specific inequalities. To that effect she has galvanized general consensus for integrating the gender responsive budgeting (GRPB) process as part of the overall public financial reforms initiative.

As Deputy Minister for Budget and Development Planning, she alone with her technical team was able to lead on the institutionalization of Decentralization at the county level. This framework is a mechanism to ensure budgetary and financial management processes are implemented in the local government structure. As the result of these engagements, county service centers are now setup in all fifteen counties.

Later, as Coordinator of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) Secretariat, she coordinated the establishment and management of a new MTFE budget process and redirected resources to ensure that the budget serves as a key policy tool to implement Government’s economic and development priorities.She gained valuable experience working in the public sector (human services) for fifteen years in several management positions, including Department of Health and Human Resources for the Montgomery County Government and the Government of the State of Maryland, USA. There, she evaluated Federal, State and Local Governments subsidy program operations to assess integrity and quality, formulated policies, interpreted regulations and procedures for implementation.

Monrovia, Liberia - World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim arrives in Liberia on Tuesday, December 2, 2014 to further strengthen the Bank’s continuing response to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). Dr. Kim will meet President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and senior officials of the Liberian Government.

Monrovia, Liberia - Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister on Tuesday was joined by the Head of the European Union delegation in Liberia to officially cut the ribbon, dedicating the new National Authorizing Office (NAO) on the grounds of the Executive Mansion on Capitol Hill.

Monrovia, Liberia - Finance and Development Planning Minister Amara Konneh has disclosed that as at October 31 the Ebola Trust Fund received a total of US$14.282 million for the fight against the Ebola disease.

Konneh said of this amount, the Ebola Trust Fund has disbursed US$8.387 million to and on behalf of various government entities.

Monrovia, Liberia - Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister Amara M. Konneh has concluded  constructive country-level discussions with the officials of the World Bank, IMF and other development partners aimed at mobilizing support for the government’s fight against the  Ebola epidemic.

The Authorities of the Ministry of Finance & Development Planning wish to inform the general public and our development partners that consistent with its PRESS RELEASE of October 8, 2014, health workers assigned in Ebola Treatment Units (ETU) are being paid their hazard pay for the month of September.

http://www.frontpageafricaonline.com/index.php/news/3370-liberia-s-finance-minister-cbl-governor-leave-dc-with-goodies

IMF Chief Wants “Budget Support” For Liberia

The Millennium Challenge Corporation has pledged its commitment to assisting the government of Liberia in supporting a post-Ebola Economic Stabilization and Recovery Plan.

World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim says the world community was united with West Africa and Liberia in a concerted global effort to safeguard lives, noting “we are with you and will stand by you.”

Monrovia, Liberia - Liberia’s Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Amara Konneh departs Liberia for Washington DC on Monday, 5th October, as part of a government delegation at the upcoming annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF.

The high powered delegation which includes the Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia, Dr. Mills Jones,is expected to hold series of multilateral and bilateral discussions aimed at rallying support for the government’s

The Government of Liberia has signed its first three groundbreaking contract agreements with key implementing partners for the US$52m Ebola Emergency Response operation that is intended to accelerate Liberia’s response to the Ebola epidemic across the country.

At the ceremony held at the newly established Ebola Crisis Response Center Thursday in Sinkor,

Liberia has signed a landmark grant agreement of about $52 million dollars with the World Bank to accelerate the government’s response to the Ebola epidemic in the country. 

The new grant is part of the US$200 million Ebola emergency mobilization first announced by the WBG in early August. The WBG said that its new Ebola Emergency Response project mobilized

Liberia's Finance Minister Amara Konneh has disclosed that the government will prosecute people who misapplied funds intended to fight the deadly Ebola virus. In recent days, there has been accusation and counter accusations of officials of government managing funds intended to fight the disease, diverting those funds into their personal use.

The Office is charged with establishing standard and developing methods for creating project, creating project development toolkits, training government functionaries in project development and management, and providing advice to stakeholders on project quality and funding requirements.

Over the year, the PMO trained over 88 ministries and agencies in project development using its Project Management Template (PMT), and enhanced this tool by creating the National Project System, which serves as a giant filter that eliminates bad concepts, allowing viable ones to develop into comprehensive project plans. The exercise ensures that projects are developed prior to its inclusion in the following fiscal year budget.

The Office is charged with establishing standard and developing methods for creating project, creating project development toolkits, training government functionaries in project development and management, and providing advice to stakeholders on project quality and funding requirements.

Over the year, the PMO trained over 88 ministries and agencies in project development using its Project Management Template (PMT), and enhanced this tool by creating the National Project System, which serves as a giant filter that eliminates bad concepts, allowing viable ones to develop into comprehensive project plans. The exercise ensures that projects are developed prior to its inclusion in the following fiscal year budget.

The Office is charged with establishing standard and developing methods for creating project, creating project development toolkits, training government functionaries in project development and management, and providing advice to stakeholders on project quality and funding requirements.

Over the year, the PMO trained over 88 ministries and agencies in project development using its Project Management Template (PMT), and enhanced this tool by creating the National Project System, which serves as a giant filter that eliminates bad concepts, allowing viable ones to develop into comprehensive project plans. The exercise ensures that projects are developed prior to its inclusion in the following fiscal year budget.

The Public Financial Management Reforms Coordination Unit (RCU), was established within the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning in 2010. The core mandate of the RCU is to facilitate coordination in implementing Government public financial management (PFM) reform agenda, ensuring the highest level of impact and promoting strong Government leadership and ownership of the priorities and outputs (outcomes) of the reform program.

The RCU serves as the Secretariat to the PFM Steering Committee (SC). The SC is the structure responsible for oversight over the reform program. It meets quarterly and is chaired by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning. As the Secretariat, the role of RCU is to report to the SC on the progress of implementation of the PFM program to enable it provide strategic policy direction and decision making role, pertaining to the reforms.

What we do

- Prepare quarterly and annual reports on the execution of the PFM Reform Strategy and Action Plan- Update the PFM policy monitoring framework (PFM matrix) - Work with component leads/thematic leads in guiding the implementation of the PFM program- Provide quarterly Briefs to the PFM Steering Committee- Evaluate proposal for financing emanating from PFM components-Liaise with Development Partners on program financing-Attend sessions of Development Partners on PFM related issue- Consolidate annual work plans and budgets of the components for clearance by the Steering Committee-Program management of the Integrated Public Financial Management Reform Project (IPFMRP)-Liaise regularly with the World Bank and African Development Bank for clearances on financing activities under the IPFMRP-Facilitates PFM donor coordination- Follow-up with components on the implementation of SC actions - Generate working documents and any other technical document required for the review, deliberation and approval of the SC

RCU coordinating with Development partners

The Public Financial Management Reforms Coordination Unit (RCU), was established within the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning in 2010. The core mandate of the RCU is to facilitate coordination in implementing Government public financial management (PFM) reform agenda, ensuring the highest level of impact and promoting strong Government leadership and ownership of the priorities and outputs (outcomes) of the reform program.

The RCU serves as the Secretariat to the PFM Steering Committee (SC). The SC is the structure responsible for oversight over the reform program. It meets quarterly and is chaired by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning. As the Secretariat, the role of RCU is to report to the SC on the progress of implementation of the PFM program to enable it provide strategic policy direction and decision making role, pertaining to the reforms.

What we do

- Prepare quarterly and annual reports on the execution of the PFM Reform Strategy and Action Plan- Update the PFM policy monitoring framework (PFM matrix) - Work with component leads/thematic leads in guiding the implementation of the PFM program- Provide quarterly Briefs to the PFM Steering Committee- Evaluate proposal for financing emanating from PFM components-Liaise with Development Partners on program financing-Attend sessions of Development Partners on PFM related issue- Consolidate annual work plans and budgets of the components for clearance by the Steering Committee-Program management of the Integrated Public Financial Management Reform Project (IPFMRP)-Liaise regularly with the World Bank and African Development Bank for clearances on financing activities under the IPFMRP-Facilitates PFM donor coordination- Follow-up with components on the implementation of SC actions - Generate working documents and any other technical document required for the review, deliberation and approval of the SC

RCU coordinating with Development partners

The Public Financial Management Reforms Coordination Unit (RCU), was established within the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning in 2010. The core mandate of the RCU is to facilitate coordination in implementing Government public financial management (PFM) reform agenda, ensuring the highest level of impact and promoting strong Government leadership and ownership of the priorities and outputs (outcomes) of the reform program.

The RCU serves as the Secretariat to the PFM Steering Committee (SC). The SC is the structure responsible for oversight over the reform program. It meets quarterly and is chaired by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning. As the Secretariat, the role of RCU is to report to the SC on the progress of implementation of the PFM program to enable it provide strategic policy direction and decision making role, pertaining to the reforms.

What we do

- Prepare quarterly and annual reports on the execution of the PFM Reform Strategy and Action Plan- Update the PFM policy monitoring framework (PFM matrix) - Work with component leads/thematic leads in guiding the implementation of the PFM program- Provide quarterly Briefs to the PFM Steering Committee- Evaluate proposal for financing emanating from PFM components-Liaise with Development Partners on program financing-Attend sessions of Development Partners on PFM related issue- Consolidate annual work plans and budgets of the components for clearance by the Steering Committee-Program management of the Integrated Public Financial Management Reform Project (IPFMRP)-Liaise regularly with the World Bank and African Development Bank for clearances on financing activities under the IPFMRP-Facilitates PFM donor coordination- Follow-up with components on the implementation of SC actions - Generate working documents and any other technical document required for the review, deliberation and approval of the SC

RCU coordinating with Development partners

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The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning wishes to dispel a very malicious and unfounded rumor circulating, that Minister Amara Konneh was tested and diagnosed positive of the deadly Ebola virus and currently in quarantine.
 
This rumor is untrue and has already been dismissed by authorities of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in Liberia. The Ministry insists that neither the Minister nor any Ministry officials have been quarantined, as being falsely rumored.

In the wake of the rapid spread of the deadly Ebola virus and the recent untimely death of Mr. Patrick Sawyer, Coordinator of the ECOWAS National Unit at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, having contracted the virus, the Ministry wishes to announce the following measures to ensure public safety and instill confidence in users of services at the Ministry.
 
At the very highest level of the Ministry, all senior officials coming in direct or indirect contact with Mr. Sawyer have been placed on the prescribed 21 days observatory surveillance period starting July 20th, the day Mr. Sawyer departed the country for Nigeria.

Monrovia July 7, 2014 – Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, former Prime Minister of Niger and Chief Executive Officer of the NEPAD Agency, was on Friday, July 4th, 2014 installed as Interim Chief Executive Officer of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Secretariat, succeeding Mr. Assefa Shifa who held the post ad interim since 2008.

Presiding over the handover ceremony was Hon. Amara M. Konneh, Liberia’s Acting Minister of Finance and Development Planning and Chair of the Committee of APRM Focal Points, which directs the administration of the Mechanism.

Minister Amara Konneh maintains that Liberia continues to make progress in improving the educational sector but that such feat remains slow and expenditure in the sector poorly prioritized. He warns: “We need to change that.”

According to Minister Konneh, the share of total spending on education in the national budget is low, at around 12%, although donors provide over half of spending in the sector.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is calling on the Board of Governors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) to open up capital portfolio to non-regional members and other institutional investors in the face of the slow payments of capital by regional members.

“The admission of non-regional members will enable EBID to contribute to the economic and social development of Member States through low interest loans,” the Liberian leader suggested adding, “With a larger membership, the Bank will be endowed with greater expertise, and the credibility of its partners would allow it to have access to the markets of non-regional Member States.”

Finance Ministers from the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS are converging on Monrovia for the convening of the 12th Ordinary Meeting of the Board of Governors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development.

The one day summit, expected to attract fifteen Ministers of Finance or the proxies will take place on Monday, June 16th at the Royal Hotel in Sinkor, Monrovia.

The Ministry of Finance is gravely concerned and disappointed with the New Republic Newspaper’s Tuesday, May 27, 2014 publication captioned: ‘’Liberia’s is doomed”, in which the paper attributed its story to Finance Minister Amara Konneh, suggesting that the Liberian economy was doomed.

The Ministry wants to state emphatically that at no time did Finance Minister Amara Konneh make such statement to the effect that the country was doomed due to the absence of new economic policy that will rescue the perishing and vulnerable economy in the country.

The Ministry of Finance has noted that some Ministries and Agencies may be committing the Government in Contractual obligations which are in excess of the appropriations authorized by the Legislature or without proper observation of the established procurement process, in contravention of the law.

Dispatch from Washington DC

Finance Minister Amara Konneh and delegation at the ongoing Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have held constructive country-level discussions with the Bank’s Vice President for Africa Maktar Diop on support for the Liberia’s development agenda, the Agenda for Transformation (AfT). 

The meeting with Mr. Diop, former Finance and Economy Minister of Senegal, centered on addressing bottlenecks affecting Liberia’s portfolio performance and disbursement rate under the International Development Association (IDA) financing arrangement on key projects, including support to the health sector, direct budget support and financing of the Red Light to Ganta-Guinea Border Road Project.

Monrovia, April 6, 2014: Finance Minister Amara Konneh will lead Liberia’s delegation to this year’s spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in Washington DC, USA.

Among the primary events covering the preparation of the FY2014-2015 National Budget is the budget hearings, where the Ministries, Agencies and Commissions (MACs) present and justify their budget requests at the Ministry of Finance.

The MFDP is headed by a Minister, appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate. As administrative head of the MFDP, the Minister provides broad strategic and policy direction for the running of the institution. The Minister is further charged with formulating, institutionalizing and administering economic, development planning, fiscal and tax policies.

The office of the Minister also oversees a number of core administrative units including Legal and Internal Audit. In addition, the office also has oversight over some specialized units including the Public Finance Management Reform Unit, the EU Authorizing Office and the ECOWAS National Unit.

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To be a dynamic and efficiently managed institution of public finance, economic management and development planning to achieve sustainable economic growth and transformation.

MISSIONThe Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) is established to promote inclusive, sustainable growth and development through:• Efficient resource allocation• Equitable wealth distribution• Prudent financial management• Integrated development planning• Well coordinated economic management• Formulation and implementation of sound fiscal and economic policies

The Department of Budget and Development Planning is responsible for preparing, framing and implementing the annual budget, as well as undertaking fiscal consolidation, monitoring the budgetary position and engaging with the Legislative Budget Office (LBO) for legislative approval of the Budget.

The Department also assists with preparing development plans and providing guidance to all government agencies for preparing development programs and projects, as well as implementation and monitoring.

The Department is also responsible to advise on the allocation of resources to line ministries and agencies for the implementation of development programs and projects. It has oversight for monitoring and evaluating government’s overall development agenda and liaising with Ministries and Agencies (M&As) as well as donor partners to maximize adherence to development plans. Working with sector agencies, the Department is also responsible to appraise and approve all public investment proposals of the line ministries. In short, the Department is effectively the voice of development within government.

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The MFDP is headed by a Minister, appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate. As administrative head of the MFDP, the Minister provides broad strategic and policy direction for the running of the institution. The Minister is further charged with formulating, institutionalizing and administering economic, development planning, fiscal and tax policies.

The office of the Minister also oversees a number of core administrative units including Legal and Internal Audit. In addition, the office also has oversight over some specialized units including the Public Finance Management Reform Unit, the EU Authorizing Office and the ECOWAS National Unit.

The MFDP is headed by a Minister, appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate. As administrative head of the MFDP, the Minister provides broad strategic and policy direction for the running of the institution. The Minister is further charged with formulating, institutionalizing and administering economic, development planning, fiscal and tax policies.

The office of the Minister also oversees a number of core administrative units including Legal and Internal Audit. In addition, the office also has oversight over some specialized units including the Public Finance Management Reform Unit, the EU Authorizing Office and the ECOWAS National Unit.

President Sirleaf's Policy Statement on Corruption

The Government of Liberia has made it clear that any action instituted in its fight against corruption will be done in keeping with the law. In a radio address Thursday on corruption,