MONROVIA – The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) has reported that the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) failed to remit any revenue for the 2024 fiscal year, and there is no indication that NaFAA is prepared to address the issue.
The LRA disclosed this yesterday (January 14, 2025) at a press conference held at its headquarters in Paynesville.
According to James Dorbor Jallah, Commissioner General of the LRA, NaFAA was expected to remit US$1.2 million as its contribution to the national budget. However, the state-owned enterprise (SOE) failed to deliver even a penny of the amount.
The head of Liberia’s revenue collection agency criticized the situation, stating that employees at revenue-generating government agencies receive their salaries and allowances on time, yet these agencies are not doing enough to support the national budget for basic social services and national development.
Jallah noted that, as a government agency, the law does not specify what the LRA should do when another government entity tasked with revenue collection and remittance defaults on its target.
He disclosed that in the 2024 budget year, the LRA was granted leverage to take action. However, the Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for prosecuting government cases, faced a conflict of interest and called on the LRA and NaFAA to settle the matter.
“The Ministry of Justice had a point. If two government agencies go to court, the Ministry would have to represent both of them. If we take NaFAA to court, the Ministry would have to represent us and NaFAA as well. This creates a small conundrum—a conflict—that the Ministry decided was not appropriate to litigate,” Jallah told the press.
NaFAA, through its Communications and Public Affairs Department, told The Liberian Investigator that its failure to contribute to the 2024 budget was not intentional but circumstantial.
“The management of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority says its budget has not been approved by the Board of Directors, which is why the contributions were not captured. However, NaFAA’s contributions will be reflected in the recast of the National Budget,” Lewis Konoe, head of communications and public affairs, said to The Liberian Investigator via WhatsApp Messenger.
Despite these challenges, Jallah highlighted that the LRA surpassed its 2024 revenue target of US$690 million.
“As of the close of the 2024 fiscal year, the LRA exceeded its annual revenue target of US$690 million by raising more than US$692 million,” Jallah reported, adding, “An additional US$10 million is in the process of being reconciled, so actual performance is expected to be much higher.”
Jallah further noted that other government agencies, such as the Liberia Petroleum Refinery Corporation (LPRC) and the National Port Authority (NPA), also failed to meet their revenue targets.
The LPRC was expected to contribute US$3.8 million but only delivered US$2.5 million, leaving US$1.3 million unfulfilled. The NPA, with a target of US$6.38 million, submitted US$3 million, leaving US$3.38 million unreported.
Liberia remains one of the poorest countries globally, and its lack of development is attributed not to a lack of resources but to the inability to raise sufficient domestic revenue and allocate a significant portion of the national budget to infrastructure and human capital development.
Amid these challenges, Jallah noted that the LRA, having surpassed US$700 million, has the capacity to collect even more—potentially up to US$1 billion or more in annual tax revenue.
He credited this achievement to the resilience, commitment, and collaboration of all stakeholders involved in the revenue mobilization process.
For the 2025 fiscal year, which began this month (January), the LRA has set a domestic revenue collection target of US$804.627 million.
“Our targeted domestic revenue is US$804.627 million. We expect external resource mobilization of US$76.035 million, making the cumulative budget for 2025 US$880.627 million,” Jallah said.
He expressed confidence in achieving this goal, citing the dedication of his team. “I have always encouraged my team to focus on the small gains we are making, despite the challenges. This motivates us to work even harder and see our success as a must.”
Impact of External Support on the National Budget
Jallah emphasized that no country has ever developed through foreign aid alone, and Liberia must focus on raising its revenue to billions to fund its development needs.
“External support comes with terms and conditions. If those terms are not met, it becomes challenging to realize the full potential of the national budget,” Jallah explained.
He noted that while foreign aid to Liberia has significantly declined—from US$48 million in the 2024 budget to an expected US$76 million in 2025—the majority of the budget must come from domestic taxes.
He argued that achieving a US$1.5 billion revenue envelope would enable Liberia to fund major development projects, such as nationwide road construction, without overly relying on external support.
Appeal for More Support to the LRA
Jallah appealed to the Legislature and the Executive to allocate at least five percent of total revenue collected to the LRA. This funding would enable the agency to procure adequate logistics, hire experts, and improve tax collection nationwide.
“There are various taxes, such as real estate tax and goods and services tax, that we are yet to fully realize,” Jallah said, emphasizing the need for increased funding for awareness campaigns and operational efficiency.
He commended all state-owned enterprises that met their revenue targets and encouraged those that defaulted to double their efforts in 2025 for the betterment of Liberia.
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