Liberia’s Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) has submitted a budget of US$532,906,966.00 million for Fiscal Year 2019/2020 to the National Legislature for ratification.
Making the presentation over the weekend in the office of House Speaker Bhofal Chambers, Finance Minister Samuel Tweah apologized for the delay in the submission of the budget, adding that it was done for the right reasons in the interest of the Liberian people.
President Weah, according to Tweah, is committed to fighting fraud and abuse of state resources, stating that the wage bill of the Liberian Government is being seriously considered in the 2019/2020 budget as recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“The government is making significant efforts to settle domestic liabilities in the tone of US$35 million. The government wage bill in the 2018/2019 fiscal year was US$330 million, but with the
harmonization, the new wage bill for 2019/2020 will now be US$297 million,” Tweah disclosed.
He added that the government has put in place strong revenue measures which will ensure harmonization.
Receiving the budget, House Speaker Chambers thanked the MFDP authorities for the submission of the document.
Speaker Chambers said though the budget was presented late, it was proper that it is done well, rather than presented sooner without being properly written for legislative action.
TSS/abj/APA