The Government of Liberia has officially launched a US$18.3 million four-year institutional support project funded through the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Development Fund, aimed at strengthening public financial management and governance across key state institutions.
The project aims to strengthen tax policy and management, budgeting systems, extractive sector transparency, anti-corruption capacity, judicial and law enforcement effectiveness, and other core fiscal functions across 14 beneficiary institutions.
Speaking as the chief presenter at the official ceremony, Minister of Finance and Development Planning Augustin Kpehe Ngajuan stressed that strengthening governance, effective anti-corruption systems and judicial reform are essential to improving revenue efficiency and restoring public confidence.
“GDP growth must be linked to real revenues that fund our priorities,” Minister Ghajuan said, stressing the need to widen the domestic tax base, improve compliance and reduce over-reliance on external borrowing.
The Minister of Finance reaffirmed the Government of Liberia’s determination to honor its obligations to international partners and said his administration will accelerate efforts to direct domestic resources to agriculture, education, justice and other priority areas, with the goal of building a resilient public finances that responds to the aspirations of its people.
Alongside the institutional support project, the government has also launched a debt and beneficial ownership technical assistance project, amounting to approximately US$1.3 million worth of subsidy financing. The initiative aims to strengthen debt reporting, monitoring and transparency, as well as establish and strengthen beneficial ownership disclosure mechanisms to curb illicit financial flows.
Minister Ngajuan described the two initiatives as complementary reforms that will significantly improve domestic revenue mobilization, public financial management, debt transparency and ownership accountability, and expressed confidence that Liberia is poised to achieve new milestones in fiscal governance.
Mr. John Bosco Bukenya, Principal Country Program Officer at AfDB Liberia Country Office, also delivered remarks, welcoming the formal launch and stressing the importance of full and timely utilization of funds.
“This exercise we are conducting today is just the beginning of the journey,” Bukenya said. “My focus in launching this project is to ensure that funds, including loans and grants to the government, are fully spent. Anything that is not spent is a cost to the Liberian people.”
He called for strong cooperation among stakeholders to ensure effective implementation and tangible results.
On behalf of the Executive Branch, the Minister of State without Portfolio, Mamaka Birti, expressed gratitude to the AfDB for supporting the Government of Liberia and its institutions through two reform initiatives.
“This is just a tidbit, but I would like to thank the AfDB for supporting the Liberian government and most of its key institutions,” he said, noting that these projects are a direct reflection of Liberia’s commitment to fiscal discipline, domestic resource mobilization, and fiscal transparency.
He described the initiative as timely and strategic, adding: “These are innovations that support sustainable development and economic resilience. We thank the African Development Bank for its continued partnership and resolute support to Liberia.”
Speaking on behalf of the anti-corruption institutions, Cllr. Alexandra Zoe, Executive Director of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), commended both the AfDB and the Government of Liberia, noting that the project recognizes the central role of strong anti-corruption institutions in driving reform.
“On behalf of the committee, we reaffirm our commitment to using these resources responsibly, transparently and in strict adherence to our mission,” Cllr. Zoe said.
N. Oswald Twe, Secretary to the Minister of Justice, said the initiative is critical to the ongoing judicial sector reform, stressing the urgency to accelerate procurement, spending and implementation, especially after the one-year delay due to ratification.
Concluding his remarks on behalf of the beneficiary institutions, Gabriel Montgomery, Deputy Commissioner of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), said that the project will provide the necessary logistical support and robust systems for the successful implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT) in Liberia.
He noted that this initiative will ensure institutional readiness and appropriate system processes, which are essential for the success of the VAT reform.
The project will be implemented by the Project Management Unit within the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), which will oversee fiduciary responsibility, financial management and reporting in line with AfDB and government guidelines.
Beneficiary institutions include the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (Revenue and Budget Division), the Liberian Revenue Authority, the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Financial Intelligence Agency, the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Liberian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the Judiciary, the Liberian National Police, the Liberian Immigration Service, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Ministry of Labor, and the Presidential Delivery Service. Public institution.
