By Bill W. Cooper
The Country-lead of BudgIT Liberia, Abraham Varney, has emphasized the importance of consistent budget awareness in bridging the gap between citizens and policymakers across Liberia.
Varney highlighted that ensuring that the budget reflects the needs of the people requires active engagement and participation from both the government and the public.
He also underscored that the stakeholders’ engagement is part of efforts to enhance citizens’ capacity to be effective actors in the budget process and be able to hold their leaders accountable, demand for accountability, and track public projects that are funded in the national budget to achieve the value for public monies used by the government.
According to him, budget awareness plays a crucial role in empowering citizens to hold policymakers accountable for their spending decisions, and as such, by providing citizens with access to information about government budgets and expenditures, they are better equipped to advocate for policies that address their needs and priorities.
Varney further stressed the importance of ongoing dialogue between citizens and policymakers to ensure that the budget reflects the diverse needs of the population, adding that by fostering a culture of transparency and collaboration, both parties can work together to create a budget that truly serves the interests of the people.
He spoke recently, at the climax of a one-day Town Hall Meeting with citizens in Bong County, aimed at ensuring that budget allocations directly address their priorities and enhance their well-being.
To promote understanding of the draft budget and citizens’ rights under the Freedom of Information Law, the day-long gathering was organized by BudgIT Liberia, with funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
The meeting also brought together a series of participants including local government officials, civil society organizations, women’s groups, youths, and people with disabilities, as they were educated on the draft budget and empowered to provide input.
Armah B. Johnson, in his presentation about the Freedom of Information (FOI), provided invaluable insights about citizens’ rights and responsibilities regarding access to public information.
He stressed that it is the fundamental nature of citizens’ right to access information, emphasizing that transparency is the cornerstone of good governance, thus encouraging citizens to utilize the FOI law as a tool to hold authorities accountable for projects funded in the national budget.
Finance Ministry Assistant Director for Budget Dissemination and Fiscal Transparency, Carolyn Myer Zoduah, said budget discussion has been concluded on public hearing before the joint committee but agencies are still making their case for budgetary increment.
She asserted that for Fiscal Year 2024, the revenue and corresponding expenditure total is US$692.41 million, and of this, a substantial US$640.34 million, or 92.5 percent, is allocated to recurrent expenditures, leaving a mere 7.5 percent, or US$51.89 million, for the Public Sector Investment Plan.
Myers added that Liberia has a dismal performance in the open budget survey rating, which scored the country 6 percent as it happened as a result of not consistently adhering to recommendations that come from our international partners.
Meanwhile, the Citizen Participation Officer for Bong County under the USAID-DAI-Lead project, Albert Thompson, commended BudgIT Liberia for the initiative and stressed the importance of citizens actively engaging in demanding accountability and unrestricted access to public information.
He then pledged his institution’s support to CSOs and Government to promote fiscal transparency, citing it as a significant stride toward fostering efficiency in governance processes.
