Published: October 18, 2024
Monrovia – Amidst ongoing debates over President Boakai’s initiative to reverse the unpopular “harmonization policy” from the previous administration, Liberia’s Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, has pledged a renewed focus on improving the financial well-being of civil servants.
In a recent statement, Minister Ngafuan explained that the government is intent on increasing the disposable income for civil servants, which is the amount of money they have left after taxes and other deductions. Current economic reports put Liberia’s inflation rate at 7.7 percent, with a hopeful decline to 6.6 percent anticipated next year due to government intervention.
Addressing the issue of harmonization directly, Ngafuan admitted that while this could be swiftly dealt with in isolation, broader fiscal challenges complicate immediate action. He detailed the $83 million withdrawn by the previous government from the Central Bank of Liberia, noting plans to allocate $15 million for its partial settlement in the upcoming fiscal year. Additionally, an unresolved ECOWAS Trade Levy of $18 million and a notable increase in government salaries towards the end of the previous term have further strained the budget.
During a nationwide broadcast on ELBC, Minister Ngafuan assured the public that plans to enhance civil servants’ incomes are being formulated and will be incorporated in the forthcoming national budget.
Reflecting on his previous tenure as finance minister more than a decade ago, Ngafuan expressed concern over the modest increase in the national budget from approximately $500 million then to just over $700 million now. He attributed this slow growth to external factors like the Ebola outbreak and the global COVID pandemic, as well as fiscal “slippages.”
Ngafuan remains optimistic, recalling his past achievements which included the cancellation of over $5 billion in external debt. However, he highlighted the current government’s burden with a total debt stock of $2.57 billion and planned debt service payments of $328 million for FY2025, emphasizing the critical need for prudent management of domestic debts to foster economic growth and infrastructure development.
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