The Majority Bloc of House of Representatives Joint Ways, Means, Finance and Development Planning and Public Accounts Committee has commenced the expenditure hearing of Fiscal Year 2025 Draft National Budget.
It can be recalled that the draft budget for 2025 was submitted at a little over US$ 851Million, an increase of $112,875,039 compared with the FY 2024 Approved Budget of $738,859,834.
These hearings are being held amid the ongoing impasse at the House of Representatives with the body being divided into a Majority and Minority Blocs over the attempted move to unseat embattled House Speaker J. Fonati Koffa.
Recently, Koffa took flight to the Supreme Court with a petition to declare his removal and the subsequent election of Representative Richard Koon as speaker unconstitutional. But even after the court’s ruling into the matter, the Majority Bloc has continued to operate in executing the duties of the House since the Minority Bloc where the embattled speaker presides does not have the quorum to do business.
Koffa has again taken flights to the Supreme Court with a follow-up petition for the court to explain its ruling of December 6, 2024 clearly, but the court is yet to take any action. Thus the Majority Bloc is proceeding in a hasty form and manner to have the budget passed before the high court can hear the petition.
According to a statement issued by the House Press Bureau, the commencement of such hearings is consistent with the 1986 Constitution, the rules and procedures of the House of Representatives and the Public Financial Law of 2009.
Speaking during the opening ceremony on Monday, December 16, 2024, the Chairman of the Joint Committee, Representative P. Mike Jury, said the expenditure hearing provides an opportunity for various line ministries and agencies to defend their respective budget expenditures and allocations, opened to the public as part of efforts to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.
Chairman Jury said to expedite the expenditure hearing, the Ways, Means Finance and Development Planning(WMDP) Committee and the Public Account Committee (PAC) are working into sub-committees to conduct hearings simultaneously.
According to him, the expenditure hearing will be executed in a strategic way to save time and enhance the passage of the 2025 National Budget on or before Friday, 20th of December 2025.
He said the expenditure components will focus on Agriculture value chain programs, roads and infrastructure, education, health, basic social services, salaries to improve public sector remuneration, amongst many other developmental allocations.
The Maryland County District#1 Representative assured the public of the joint committee’s renewed and robust oversight into the execution of the process.
He said the committee will put in place further fiscal measures that will grant viewing and garnishing rights given the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), and will further conduct hearings on quarterly performance reports, among others.
Meanwhile, the first day sitting was graced by the Ministry of Finance, the Liberia Revenue Authority, the National Identification Registry, the Civil Service Agency, among other spending entities.
