Boakai-Koung Regime Inherited $2.6 Billion Debt, Reveals Deputy Minister Zuo

MONROVIA – The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning says the Boakai-Koung regime inherited a total debt of US$2.6 billion from the Weah-Taylor administration, stressing that the figures prove that the debts accumulated by the CDC government in the last six years surpass those inherited from the Sirleaf-Boakai regime over 12 years.

Deputy Minister for Economic Management at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Dephue Zuo, made the disclosure on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism (MICAT) regular press briefing in Monrovia.

According to him, under the former ruling Unity Party, led by ex-President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Vice President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, the government accumulated US$881 million in debt over its 12-year tenure.

He also stated that US$4.2 billion was waived under the Sirleaf administration. “You will be surprised, as Liberians, but let me say this to you: in a six-year period, the CDC government of former President George Weah accumulated US$2.6 billion in debt.”

Minister Zuo further noted that of the US$2.6 billion, the Boakai-Koung regime inherited over US$1 billion in domestic debts, which, according to him, raises questions about the fiscal management team of the immediate past administration.

“In addition to that, we’re talking about external debts; out of that US$2.6 billion, the domestic debt we inherited is so huge, which is US$1 billion. This action strangulates our local Liberian businesses by taking away money from them and leaving government workers unpaid after work,” Minister Zuo asserted.

According to him, some local contractors could not be paid by the CDC government for their services, thus leaving them in a state of dilemma. “Due to this poor management of the fiscal space of the country, this is why this Rescue Mission has come to rescue the country.”

Also supporting Deputy Minister Zuo’s revelation, the acting Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Anthony G. Myers, stressed that despite the government’s efforts to fund the construction of its State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) years ago through debt, none of those SOEs has made significant progress to satisfy donor partners.

Myers named the National Housing Authority, National Port Authority, other local ports, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Center, and the Liberia Petroleum and Refinery Corporation among others, as some of those SOEs that are yet to make significant improvements to justify the borrowed funds used for their construction.

“In fact, what they accumulated in the last six years is more than what we accumulated in 12 years,” he added. He also stated that not all creditors waived their debts to the UP government in 2010.

He further questioned the expenditure of over US$1 billion in domestic debt accumulated under the Weah administration. “So the question is, US$1.5 billion-plus in debt over six years—where did it go?”

Also throwing jabs at former President George Manneh Weah, Minister Myers highlighted what he termed as Intertemporal Decision-making, where a decision made by a leader today determines the progress or regress of the country.

“The decision you make today—whether you want to fly to Dubai or do a 48-day tour around the world watching football games—tomorrow, your children, your brother’s children, and other relatives may not have the petty cash to ride a taxi to get to their destination,” Myers noted.

He further asserted that, unlike the mismatch in scheduled payments in 2023—which some media outlets misunderstood to be a default by the current administration—the UP regime is current with its due payments and in line with the schedule for 2024, adding that by the end of 2024, all due payments will be completed.

He added that the government has paid almost US$45 million in 2024, noting that about 50 percent of that amount is debt that was scheduled to have been paid by the former ruling party, the CDC, in 2023 but was not paid.

“Allotments were raised, vouchers were raised, but they didn’t pay the debt, and like Minister Jerolinmek Piah said, we are still confronting legacy issues of the past,” he said.