MFDP submits FY 2024 Draft National Budget at USD 625.57M

Monrovia, Liberia - The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning representing the Executive Branch of the Liberian Government, on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, submitted the Fiscal Year2024 Draft National Budget in the amount of USD625.57M (Six Hundred Twenty-five million, fifty-seven thousand), to the National Legislature through House of Representative Speaker Dr. Bhofal Chambers.

The submission of the draft budget is in compliance with Section 17.1 of the Public Financial Management Act 2009. The budget known as a financial instrument is expected to be scrutinized by the legislature before its subsequent passage into law.
Submitting the draft budget was Deputy Finance Minister for Budget and Development Planning Hon. Tanneh G. Brunson who explained that the draft budget when passed into law will run from January 1 to December 2024.

The Deputy Minister revealed that the draft budget which is submitted is based on projection and forecast of revenue, both domestically and through donor support.

As per the draft instrument of USD 625.57, (Six Hundred Twenty-Five million), US$ 2.43(Two million, forty-three thousand) or 0.39 percent is projected to come from external resources.
She informed Speaker Chambers that the proposed total expenditure for FY 2024 is 625.57 million in consonance with the projected resource envelope. She noted that the recurrent component of expenditure is US$ 594.54 million, or 95 percent of the proposed expenditure, while the total cost of public sector investment is projected to be US$31.03, or 5 percent of the total proposed expenditure.

Minister Brunson indicated that the first claims on available resources are focused on obligatory expenditure categories of the total amount of US$ 594.54 million earmarked for recurrent expenditure has been allocated and guided by the following order of priority to include: Debt services (Domestic and External), Compensation for employees, Grants, Goods and services for Education and Health Sectors among others.

“In the wake of mounting pressures, especially national debt burden and recurrent expenditure, only critical cross cutting national programs and projects in three sectors have been proposed under the public Investment program (PSIP) segment of the budget. Among these is the National road fund under the infrastructure and basic services sectors” She said.

For his part, House Speaker Dr. Bhofal Chambers receiving the draft national budget, thanked the Senior Management team of MFDP for the level of efforts and responsibility, in order to submit the draft budget.

According to Speaker Chambers, the legislature will also perform its duties and due diligence to the national budget, so that the “budget” can serve the Liberian people.
“We will do the needful thing for the draft national budget process that will serve the Liberian people and better their lives in all sectors of the economy’’ he added.

Speaker Chambers stated that the legislature when perusing the draft national budget will also take into consideration that the priorities therein will be about the country and the collective drive to move the economy forward.

The draft national budget submission was attended by the Deputy Minister for Budget and Development Planning, Hon. Tenneh G. Brynson, the House Speaker Dr. Bhofal Chambers, Senior Policy Advisor to the Deputy Minister for Budget and Development Planning, Foday C. Bayoh Jr., Director for Compensation and Expenditure Control Adwoa Prempeh and Acting Director for Budget Policy and Coordination, Julius M. Boakia of MFDP.