The Government of Liberia has kicked off national budget awareness activities in Montserrado County through the Open Budget Office at Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.
An April 16, 2024 release said the draft national budget awareness is intended to give the public access to budget information and opportunities to participate in the budget process at the county level.
At the official launch of the awareness at the Stephen Tolbert Estate Football Field in Gardnersville, the Acting Director for Budget Development and Coordination at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Julius Boakai, said the draft national budget awareness is one of government’s key priorities required by law to disseminate relevant information when the budget is submitted to the legislature.
Boakai indicated that government budget is a plan that identifies “where the money will come from and also states how the government will spend the money on those activities that are defined, as well as who will be spending that money.”
The outreach activities held Monday, April 15, 2024, was attended by student groups, representatives of schools’ administrations, teaching staffs, community leaders and personnel from the Ministry of Finance.
The awareness activities will continue in parts of Montserrado and will solicit the inputs and feedbacks from citizens from different strata of the society.
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Bill To Establish TVET Commission Introduced
A bill seeking the establishment of a Liberia Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Commission has been introduced by Montserrado County Electoral District#14 Representative, Kerkula M. Kamara.
The first reading of the bill was done in open session on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 during the extraordinary session of the House.
“Honorable Speaker, youth unemployment and underemployment are major socio-economic challenges in Liberia. Although our country has largely overcome the trauma of a prolonged civil war, Ebola crisis and the recent Coronavirus disease, the country is yet to achieve its full potential for rapid and sustainable development. The acquisition of employment-oriented competencies and skills for the job-market, to drive the economy, and support industrialization remains a key national development objective.
Based upon the aforesaid, we are craving the indulgence of plenary to pass into law the proposed “Liberia TVET Commission Act (LiTCOM) that will have the power and authority to spearhead the process of implementation of the National TVET Policy,” the bill stated.
This proposed act when passed into law, according to Representative Kamara, will reposition TVET as a vehicle for promoting access to quality skills training, stimulating economic growth, creating sustainable employment and reducing poverty.
The policy, he told his colleagues, seeks to create a new vision for TVET that appeals to all categories of learners without distinction or discrimination, and addresses the acquisition of basic, intermediate and higher-level skills.
The Proposed Bill was forwarded to the Committee on Education for review it and report Plenary.
