By H Matthew Turry
The Speaker of the 55th Legislature of Liberia, Cllr J. Fonati Koffa, has spoken on a wide range of legislative issues including a working visit to the United States of America.
Speaking Tuesday, September 24, 2024, at his Capitol Building Office in Monrovia, Speaker Koffa narrated by saying, “This year the three-budget attempts we made was more open and transparent. We were able to deal with budget under public scrutiny with more participation by our members.
“We think there is room for improvement in the process. But we are at a good start, this process must be mark by accountability and transparency, and to the extent that was indeed transparent including the second time in mine here at the legislature that we had a roll call book.
According to the Grand Kru lawmaker, “The first roll call book on the budget, was the 2024 budget we passed in June, and the second roll call book on the budget was the Recast budget we had last night.
In retrospection of his dissatisfaction about the 2024 Recast Budget, Speaker Koffa said further: “When I said that we lost controlled of the budget process, it was out of frustration that the budget seemed more controlled both in the appropriation and in its making by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning. We saw that there were about US$15M plus out budget spending.”
He continued: “If we cannot consult or give some concerns to the out-budget spending, then what is the purpose of having budget, especially on items that can be easily budgeted for? Example, you cannot budget for a special sitting, because you do not know that will be called, that is appropriate.”
“You cannot budget for death, because you do not know when somebody will die, that is appropriate. But, if you going to buy vehicles, celebrates July 26, and going to do lot of other things in our budget report that can be budgeted for, then you opt to go ahead the flurry.”
“It is in this time that we deliver the budget, when we do the appropriation which is our constitutional responsibility, especially at the level of the House of Representatives,” he further said. “We hold the power of the first, we cannot open escape vow to have others budget spending that we have not contributed to, given a cent to, given approval to or scrutinized”.
“So, when I say that to the extent that the Minister of Finance has the ability to move money here and there, to accomplish these things without legislative approval, consent, or participations, our control is limited,” he said.
“We going to be revising the Public Financial Management (PFM) laws, we going to be looking at the law of our budget spending,” Speaker Koffa said.
“After we review the legislative proposal, we decided to restore in the budget, there was a US$17M gap. We decided to task the SOEs and institute some task measures to fill that gap rather than have that reduce the budget envelope. So the recast envelope that came at US$721M, we took it back to US$738M, and we restored primarily areas of health care, and education.”
He also said. “We have to make sure when we pass a budget law that is the sense of the legislature and signed by the president on how the public money opt to be sent.”
“Any movement in that regard have to have some bases in consultation to the extent that the PFM law give the Minister of Finance, an unelected official the power to make these movements or do these things, then you into slippery slope that have resulted into the kinds of our budget spending we just had, so we have to called that back,” he narrated.
At the same time Cllr Koffa disclosed to newsmen by saying that, “I have been invited as Keynote Speaker to three different events in the US, so I intent to depart shortly this week for those events.
He said those institutions that invited him include, the Union of Liberians Association of the Americas, the Grand Kru Development Association, and the Association of Liberians Journalists in the America.
The Speaker noted while in the US, “We will be talking to them on important national and diaspora issues.
While concluding Speaker Koffa said, “We will begin to reengage for the completion of all of our projects in Grand Kru, district #2, and also add to that the construction of the Folkpoh and Sastown youth centers.
“We are lacking behind in some of the projects in Grand Kru district #2, because of the overwhelming responsibility of leadership at the legislature to come and settle some things,’ he said.
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