MONROVIA – Senator Amara Konneh has raised serious concerns about the Liberian government’s 2026 budget, describing it as a “betrayal of the Legislature’s constitutional oversight role” and warning that it risks perpetuating fiscal indiscipline and undermining national development. The former Finance Minister’s critique comes as the House of Representatives has approved the budget at the aggregate level, sparking fears that the Executive will continue to misallocate public funds without proper scrutiny. In a statement, Konneh highlighted significant flaws in the budget, including zero disbursement to critical projects, excess execution cases, and reallocations across multiple entities, structural weaknesses and lack of transparency threaten to undermine the country’s development goals and urged the Senate to lead a thorough review of the budget to ensure it serves the interests of the Liberian people. The Analyst reports.
Senator Amara Konneh, former Finance Minister, has expressed concerns over the Liberian fiscal budget of 2026, highlighting significant misalignments, underfunding in key sectors, and structural weaknesses that threaten its developmental impact.
In a statement, Konneh praised President Joseph Boakai and Finance Minister Augustine Ngafuan for securing a second Compact for Liberia, acknowledging it as a significant achievement amidst declining Official Development Assistance.
However, Konneh raised alarms over the budget’s implementation, citing discretionary spending that compromised the Public Sector Investment Plan (PSIP) and development budget.
He noted that funds allocated for key projects were redirected to unrelated recurrent expenses, potentially violating statutory requirements.
Konneh’s review of eleven PSIP projects totaling $16.1 million revealed troubling insights, including zero disbursement to critical projects such as the Renovation of the Executive Mansion, Roberts International Airport Upgrade, and Landfill & Urban Sanitation Project.
The Senator also highlighted excess execution cases, such as the National Service Program overspending its allocation by 39%, and reallocations across multiple entities, including the Agriculture Value Chain project losing $1.19 million to other entities.
Konneh emphasized implications on fiscal discipline and national development, including critical infrastructure risks, urban service gaps, and agriculture undermining.
He stressed that State Owned Enterprises provided no financial data, and salaries increased by $13 million without clear justification.
The Senator cautioned against the House of Representatives’ approval of the budget at the aggregate level without thorough examination, calling it a betrayal of legislative oversight and a risk to public trust.
Konneh urged the Senate to lead a deliberate review of sectoral allocations, investment commitments, and institutional safeguards, emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability.
He concluded that the budget has huge potential to expand the economy but requires careful scrutiny and collaboration with the Executive to make it transformative for all Liberians
Konneh also questions the allocation of funds, pointing out that external financing covers most funding for priority sectors under the ARREST Agenda, undermining national ownership.
He highlighted disparities in county allocations, with Montserrado and Nimba receiving over $6 per person, while counties like Gbarpolu and Bomi get less than $1.50 each, calling it “structurally unfair”.
Konneh expressed concern over rapid growth in the security sector, with a 38% increase in allocation, totaling $151.8 million. He questioned whether this aligns with broader development goals, emphasizing that stability relies on foundational systems like education and job creation.
Konneh notes a modest increase in education funding, but says gains are uneven, with over 60% going to the University of Liberia and central payrolls.
Early childhood education receives only $20,000, while basic education funding has declined since 2024. He also highlights low health funding, at $19.37 per person, below global standards, he uncovered.
Konneh urged the Senate to lead a deliberate review of sectoral allocations, investment commitments, and institutional safeguards, emphasizing transparency and accountability.
He stressed that Liberia’s development depends on careful scrutiny and collaboration with the Executive.
He stated: “When we voiced our observations on the FY26 draft budget immediately after its submission, we examined the document in light of the FY25 Budget implementation, which was hindered by discretionary spending that compromised the Public Sector Investment Plan (PSIP), the development budget.
“Notably, funds allocated through the PSIP for key development projects and institutions have been widely redirected from their intended investments, often towards unrelated recurrent expenses. These reallocations, made after legislative approval of the FY25 budget, obscure inefficiencies and may have violated statutory requirements, particularly the Budget Transfer Act of 2008.”
Other critical Discoveries
Regarding other critical findings, the Gbarpolu Senator noted: “Renovation of the Executive Mansion Project (GSA), $500,000 budgeted, $0 received by GSA, entire amount transferred to MOS and Defense. Roberts International Airport Upgrade (RIA), $2,000,000 budgeted, $0 received by Liberia Airport Authority, $1.23M transferred across eight entities. o MFDP Headquarters Construction, $230,000 budgeted, $0 received by MFDP, $223K transferred elsewhere.
“Landfill & Urban Sanitation (MCC), $500,000 budgeted, $0 received by MCC, $250K transferred elsewhere, impacting EPA’s climate systems project and MCC’s Clean Cities and stalling resilience and sanitation goals. Education (MOE) alone lost $3.3M in planned investments, undermining school feeding and infrastructure priorities. Revenue Authority: LRA projects (DRTS and Revenue Enhancement), totaling $900K, received nothing, weakening domestic resource mobilization and modernization efforts.”
According to him, there is the National Service Program (MYS), $1,000,000 budgeted, $601K disbursed to MYS + $785K transferred to Defense and MFDP = $1.386M, exceeding the approved ceiling by 39%.
Regarding reallocation or diversion across multiple entities, the former finance Minister noted that agriculture Value Chain (MOA), $8M budgeted, only $4M disbursed to MOA, with $1.19M diverted to six other entities (MOS, NEC, MYS, MOE, LISGIS). Real Property Valuation (LLA), $1.57M budgeted, $278K disbursed to LLA, $986K transferred to MFDP, MOS, JFK, and NSA.
Konneh continued: “Critical Infrastructure Risks: Roberts International Airport Upgrade received no funding, despite a $2M allocation, while $1.23M was transferred elsewhere. Urban Service Gaps: MCC’s Landfill and Urban Sanitation Project was budgeted at $500K but received zero dollars, with $250K diverted to LEC. Agriculture Undermined: The flagship Agriculture Value Chain project, which is central to the ARREST Agenda, lost $1.19M to other entities, weakening sectoral delivery.
“Fiscal Discipline Breach: The National Service Program overspent its allocation by 39%, exposing weak expenditure controls and reporting inconsistencies. Transparency and Accountability Threatened: Transfers obscure project intent, weaken oversight, and erode trust in the budget process. Planning and Delivery Risks: Volatility in execution prevents ministries from planning long-term projects and undermines public confidence.”
SOEs Phenomenon
Equally concerning is that State Owned Enterprises, which control significant public resources, provided no financial data in the draft budget, Senator Konneh observed.
He said in the corporate world, companies routinely report their earnings to shareholders. In our case, these SOEs are corporations with Boards in which the Liberian people are their shareholders. It doesn’t make sense that their financial information isn’t fully disclosed in the budget.
He discovered: “Meanwhile, salaries increased by $13 million, with no increase in full-time staff or any information about pay raises. A new spending category, Budget Code 114 General Government Expenditure, on page [Page 107], was established and allocated $256 million in the FY2026 budget, accounting for 21.3 percent of the total budget, with no clear indication of who will oversee such a large fund.”
Betrayal of Oversight
With the Executive apparently continuing this pattern of fiscal indiscipline, the Gbarpolu County lawmaker said, it is concerning that the House of Representatives has approved the FY26 National Budget today, “at the aggregate level,” without thoroughly examining its details, but planning to “scrub” them later.
He noted: “First, this is a betrayal of the Legislature’s constitutional oversight role and a transfer of legislative power to the Executive. Second, this decision risks further misallocation of public funds and erodes public trust in the integrity of the budget process. Third, it exposes the Liberian people to yet another year of high taxes without receiving corresponding public benefits.
“The good news is that our legislative system is bicameral. We now caution the Senate in its earlier decision mandating a separate hearing as a guardrail against the rushed passage of the budget at the aggregate level, proffered by Senator Abe Darius Dillon of Montserrado County.
“If no other body will, the Senate must lead a deliberate review of the sectoral allocations, investment commitments, and institutional safeguards before the budget we concur with what the House has passed, not after. In doing so, we will safeguard the interests of the Liberian people and strengthen the President’s hand in successfully implementing his government’s development agenda. We have flagged these issues with colleagues (see attachments), and I look forward to working with them overtime on this critical effort.”