Published: November 9, 2026
MONROVIA — Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has strongly defended the government’s spending record, describing continued questions about the national budget’s impact on ordinary Liberians as a new way of discrediting the administration’s achievements.
Ngafuan said the government’s over US$1 billion budget has supported improvements in health care, education, road connectivity and public transportation, despite concerns about whether increased government spending is improving citizens’ living conditions.
Speaking Monday, at a special press conference at the Ministry of Information in Monrovia, Ngafuan rejected suggestions that the government’s expanding budget has produced little impact.
“So the issue for impact is the new way to demonize success or achievement,” Ngafuan declared while responding to questions about the benefits of public spending.
His remarks came as the government defended its proposed US$1.54 billion national budget for fiscal year 2027.
The finance minister argued that government interventions in hospitals, school feeding, road rehabilitation and public transportation demonstrate how budgetary resources are benefiting ordinary Liberians, including market women.
He cited government support for a hospital that was reportedly at risk of closure, explaining that the intervention helped sustain operations and maintain health workers.
According to Ngafuan, residents who depend on the facility can now access medical services because of the government’s financial support, pointing to the school feeding program as another example of government spending benefiting families.
“I this budget, we are doing put money for school feeding to keep the sons and daughters of the manpower in school,” he said.
The finance minister maintained that investments in roads have improved transportation conditions, particularly for market women and residents traveling to southeastern Liberia.
He recalled that poor road conditions previously forced travelers to spend weeks along major corridors, while others reportedly traveled through neighboring Côte d’Ivoire to reach southeastern counties.
“Market man used to get stranded on roads for weeks, and sometimes the market man, the man was tasked. You know, mobilize money to pass through Cote d’Ivoire to travel to the southeast. Now, actually, it does not happen,” he said.
Ngafuan acknowledged a recent road problem that attracted public criticism but said the situation had been resolved.
He also recounted traveling along the southeastern corridor in early September, where he observed buses operated by the National Transit Authority transporting passengers.
“When I was on that road, I saw NTA bus, an NTA bus. I took the picture for you guys, the government bus,” he said.
According to him, the availability of public transportation is helping residents, including market women, travel between counties at lower costs. “They are market women too. They are market women”.
Despite defending the government’s spending record, Ngafuan acknowledged that Liberia continues to face development challenges that cannot be addressed through a single national budget.
“So we acknowledge that we’re not out of this yet. $1 billion budget cannot solve all problems,” he said.
The finance minister disclosed that spending requests submitted by government ministries and agencies for fiscal year 2027 amounted to nearly US$3 billion, significantly exceeding the proposed US$1.54 billion budget.
“I told you that requests that came from spending entities for next year almost 3 billion. 3 billion,” he said.
Ngafuan explained that ministries and agencies are seeking additional funding to expand their programs, but the government’s available resources cannot accommodate every request.
“Every entity wants to do more,” he said, adding that several government officials were dissatisfied because their proposed activities could not be fully funded.
He also cited an approximately 18% increase in the proposed national budget as part of the government’s efforts to expand spending.
“We’re talking about the 18% increase,” Ngafuan said.
The minister further referenced economic growth and a World Bank report while defending the administration’s economic performance, although he did not elaborate on the report’s findings in the portion of his remarks provided.
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