MONROVIA — Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has launched the formulation of Liberia's Fiscal Year 2027 National Budget, warning ministries, agencies and commissions (MACs) to end poor planning and recurrent requests for additional funding that weaken fiscal discipline and disrupt effective public service delivery.
Launching the process under the theme, "Strengthening Fiscal Discipline and Strategic Resource Allocation for Inclusive and Sustainable Development," Ngafuan said the FY2027 budget must be guided by realistic planning, prudent spending and strict alignment with the government's ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID).
"We are here today to prepare for the 2027 budget. The budget formulation process has actually begun," Ngafuan said, reminding spending entities that the Public Financial Management Law requires the Executive to submit the draft budget to the Legislature by Oct. 31 each year.
The Finance Minister highlighted what he described as major improvements in Liberia's public financial management, noting that the national budgets for 2024 and 2025 were approved before the start of the fiscal year for the first time in post-war Liberia.
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He said timely budget approval has improved predictability, strengthened budget execution and boosted domestic revenue mobilization.
Ngafuan credited the progress to collaboration among the Ministry of Finance, the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), the Central Bank of Liberia and other government institutions.
According to him, Liberia generated nearly US$700 million in domestic revenue in 2024 before surpassing that figure with more than US$840 million in 2025.
He also defended the government's US$1.2 billion FY2026 National Budget, recalling that critics had dismissed it as unrealistic.
"When we submitted the US$1.2 billion budget, some people called us voodoo economists. They called it a phantom budget," he said. "Looking at where we are today, we are well on course to meet our target."
Despite the gains, Ngafuan expressed concern over the growing number of supplementary funding requests submitted shortly after the national budget is passed.
"We don't want to have a situation where we pass the budget in January and immediately people begin bringing requests for more money," he said. "Those things that we know can happen should be planned for."
He announced that the Ministry of Finance will adopt a stricter approach by requiring institutions seeking additional funding to first reprioritize spending within their own approved budgets instead of relying on reallocations from other agencies.
The minister also urged heads of ministries and agencies to take direct ownership of budget preparation rather than leaving the process solely to comptrollers and finance officers.
Ngafuan said the FY2027 budget will remain anchored on the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development and instructed spending entities to prioritize projects already contained in the government's development blueprint before proposing new initiatives.
"The first instrument you should go to is the AAID," he said. "Before you bring new things, you must tell us what you have done with the old things."
He stressed that every public dollar must produce measurable development results and called for stronger cooperation among government institutions.
"The Constitution does not say people working in government must like each other," Ngafuan remarked. "But it requires that we work with each other. If we don't work together, we will not succeed."
Officials Stress Accountability
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Earlier, Deputy Minister for Budget Tanneh Brunson described the FY2027 budget as a national responsibility, urging spending entities to submit realistic, data-driven budgets instead of returning later with unplanned requests.
"Every dollar must deliver results," she said, adding that the budget will prioritize infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, education, private sector development, youth empowerment and the justice sector.
Civil Service Agency Director General Dr. Josiah Joekai announced that the agency will conduct nationwide manpower hearings alongside the budget process to ensure personnel needs are incorporated into the FY2027 budget.
He said institutions will no longer be permitted to seek additional compensation allocations outside the approved manpower planning process, a move aimed at strengthening public sector efficiency and reducing supplementary budget requests.
