Revenue Boss Linchpin Assures Stable Growth -Says Liberia on Course with Billion-Dollar Revenue

MONROVIA – The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) has sounded confident that the country is on track to meet its 2025 revenue target of $804 million. LRA Commissioner General Dorbor Jallah stated at a MICAT press conference that the institution has surpassed its previous year’s target, collecting nearly $700 million, which is $10 million above target. As the Analyst reports, Jallah attributed early-year challenges to delays in implementing new tax policy reforms, but noted that the LRA has recovered strongly, collecting approximately 78% of the annual target as of October 202, but said going forward, to enhance transparency, the LRA will launch a public online portal to track national revenue collection in real-time.  The Analyst George C Flomo reports.

Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), Dorbor Jallah, has assured Liberians that the country is firmly on track to meet and possibly exceed its 2025 revenue target of US$804 million, describing claims of underperformance as false and misleading.

Speaking Monday at a special press briefing convened by the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), Jallah joined Finance and Development Planning Minister Hon. Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, in clarifying details of the US$1.211 billion draft National Budget recently submitted to the Legislature by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai.

The LRA Commissioner General addressed growing public discourse surrounding Liberia’s revenue performance and emphasized that the institution had not only met but surpassed its previous year’s target.

“There has been a lot circulating on social media suggesting underperformance last year. That is not true,” Jallah declared. “Our target was US$690 million, but we collected nearly US$700 million about US$10 million above target.”

Defending Performance Amid Early-Year Challenges

Mr. Jallah acknowledged that the first quarter of the current fiscal year presented revenue collection challenges, but explained that these were largely due to delays in implementing new tax policy reforms that had been passed late in the previous fiscal year.

“The budget assumptions projected collections beginning in January,” he explained. “However, the actual implementation started months later. That delay affected early collections, but we have recovered strongly since then.”

He revealed that as of the end of October 2025, the LRA had collected approximately 78 percent of the annual target, averaging US$67 million per month over the last ten months, higher than the projected US$62 million monthly target.

“Scientifically, that shows we are on course to meet our target of US$804 million this year,” Jallah said confidently. “There is no if or but about that.”

Transparency in Real-Time: LRA to Launch Public Revenue Portal

To combat misinformation and enhance transparency, Commissioner Jallah disclosed that the LRA will soon launch a public online portal that will allow citizens and journalists to track national revenue collection in real time.

 “We are about to launch this platform and will invite the media to witness it,” he said. “Once operational, anyone can visit the website and see the daily collection figures as they update automatically. This will end speculation about our performance once and for all.”

Clarifying Liberia’s ‘Billion-Dollar Budget’

Jallah also addressed widespread media reports suggesting that Liberia’s new billion-dollar budget was made possible solely because of a US$200 million signature bonus from ArcelorMittal Liberia’s concession extension.

He clarified that even without the ArcelorMittal bonus, Liberia’s domestic revenue growth had already positioned the country to cross the billion-dollar mark for the first time in its history.

“The ArcelorMittal bonus just added more flavor,” Jallah smiled. “If you subtract the US$200 million, the budget still stands at US$1.011 billion. So next year was already set to be Liberia’s Year of the Billion.”

He emphasized that the Boakai administration remains committed to sustaining this momentum and increasing national revenue in the years ahead.

Mobilizing for the Future: ‘Liberia’s Year of the Billion’

Looking ahead, the LRA boss outlined a vision to grow domestic revenue beyond the billion-dollar threshold through sustained reforms, stronger compliance enforcement, and strategic partnerships with the private sector and civil society.

“Our national development agenda requires about US$1.4 billion annually to fully implement its programs,” Jallah said. “We’re not there yet, but we are getting closer and we must all work together to make it happen.”

He called on Liberians, particularly the media to support the LRA’s tax education and compliance campaigns, which he described as crucial to achieving long-term fiscal independence.

“Revenue collection is a collective duty,” he appealed. “The same Liberia that defeated Ebola, survived two decades of civil war, and overcame COVID-19 can surely raise a billion dollars if we all work together.”

Public Confidence in National Growth

Jallah’s remarks echoed the earlier statement of Minister Ngafuan, who described the 2025 draft budget as a reflection of “a country doing more for itself” with domestic resources accounting for 94 percent of total revenue.

Together, the two fiscal officials projected confidence that the Boakai administration’s pro-growth fiscal policies will strengthen transparency, expand investment, and empower Liberians through sustained infrastructure and economic development.

“This is a new era of fiscal responsibility,” Jallah concluded. “Liberia’s economy is growing, our systems are improving, and we’re determined to keep pushing until our nation achieves self-sufficiency.”