We sincerely acknowledged and welcome the historic domestic revenue milestone recently announced by the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) and congratulates President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, the Commissioner General James Dorbor Jallah, the employees of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), the Ministry of Finance family, taxpayers, and all those who contributed to Liberia crossing the US$1 billion domestic revenue threshold.
Undoubtedly, this achievement represents significant progress in Liberia’s capacity to mobilize its own resources. The LRA reported that domestic revenue increased from US$699 million in 2024 to US$848 million in 2025, while collections had already reached US$904.7 million by August 18, 2026. The US$1 billion threshold was subsequently crossed on September 14, 2026.
We however, believe an important distinction must be maintained between a revenue milestone and a development milestone. Revenue is a financial resource. Development is measured by what that resource produces for the Liberian people.
The central public-policy question, therefore, is not simply whether Liberia can collect US$1 billion. It is whether increasing domestic revenue translates into better roads, functioning hospitals, quality schools, productive employment, reliable electricity, stronger agriculture, improved public-sector compensation and measurable reductions in poverty and deprivation.
The US$1 billion announcement should be considered alongside Liberia’s social and economic indicators. The World Bank’s latest reported figure for the US$3-a-day international poverty line is 33.6 percent, based on the 2016 household survey, while its October 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief state that poverty remains elevated because of persistent structural challenges.
Food insecurity also remains substantial. The World Food Programme’s 2026–2030 Liberia Country Strategic Plan estimates that approximately 21 percent of the population is chronically food insecure, with remote rural communities particularly affected. WFP identifies poverty, weak infrastructure, limited market access, climate shocks, and heavy dependence on imported food among the factors constraining livelihoods.
We think that these indicators provide important context for evaluating what increased government revenue means. The questions Liberians are entitled to ask are straightforward: What does rising revenue mean for a mother struggling to feed her children? What does it mean for farmers whose produce cannot reach markets because of poor roads? What does it mean for graduates searching for productive employment? And what measurable improvement does it bring to teachers, nurses, doctors, police officers, soldiers, and other public servants?
These are among the indicators against which the impact of increased domestic revenue should be assessed. Liberia continues to face serious health challenges. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reports infant mortality of approximately 63 deaths per 1,000 live births. In comparison, other UNICEF reporting has placed under-five mortality as high as 93 deaths per 1,000 live births. At the same time, many public health facilities continue to face shortages in infrastructure, specialized services, medicines, equipment and trained personnel.
That is why we called on the government to ensure that the public should therefore be able to see clearly how increased domestic resources are reflected in spending on hospitals, diagnostic facilities, emergency services, laboratories, pharmaceuticals, specialist training and compensation for health workers.
We strongly believe Liberia’s development prospects depend heavily on the quality of its human capital. Schools require qualified and adequately compensated teachers, laboratories, libraries, technology, learning materials, and safe infrastructure. Technical and vocational institutions are equally important for preparing young Liberians for employment. The same accountability principle applies to the security sector. The public should be able to determine whether growing government revenue is producing improvements in training, equipment, working conditions, and compensation for police officers, soldiers, and other security personnel.
The approved FY2025 National Budget illustrates the challenge. Of total expenditure of approximately US$880.66 million, US$773.95 million—or 87.9 percent—was allocated to recurrent expenditure. Only US$106.72 million, or 12.1 percent, represented public investment expenditure.
This means that increased revenue alone cannot answer Liberia’s development challenges. The composition, execution, transparency, and economic impact of public expenditure matter enormously.
The public must be informed or provided clear information showing how additional revenue is distributed among recurrent expenditure, public investment, debt service and priority social programs. Particular attention must be paid to productive investments in roads, electricity, agriculture and agro-processing, hospitals, schools, technical education, water and sanitation, and infrastructure supporting manufacturing and value addition.
