Acting Finance Minister Anthony Myers says economic growth will be driven by the strong performance of key sectors in government which include mining, agriculture, fishing and financial services.
He highlighted that economic growth is expected to accelerate to 5.8 percent by 2025, noting that the medium-term average growth rate of 5.6 percent will be supported by increased economic activity due to strong growth in mining activity, expansion of the services sector, large infrastructure investments by development partners, and improved electricity supply.
Speaking at a special MICAT press conference Wednesday, July 17, 2024, Minister Myers, commenting on structural reforms, stated that to sustain and increase this growth, the government is committed to implementing structural reforms in key sectors such as energy, trade, transport, and financial services.
According to him, these reforms are aimed at creating a more favorable environment for economic activity and investment, disclosing that inflation as an indicator of economic performance has slowed significantly, as it is expected to be 7.0 percent by the end of 2024.
He indicated that in his opinion, this is reflected in the stabilization of prices in the Liberian market, and further emphasized that the inflation rate is expected to further decline to 5.0 percent by 2027.
On the budget rollout, Minister Myers assured that tax revenues are on track, revealing that the Liberia Revenue Authority’s total receipts as of the end of the June 2024 fiscal year stood at US$342.6 million.
The acting Finance Minister explained that cash on hand was US$315.4 million and interim receipts were US$27.2 million, revealing that taxes on income and profits (US$137.2 million) and taxes on international trade (US$108.8 million) were the main items that brought in the highest revenues.
He indicated that the government remains optimistic about the future of the country’s economy and is committed to ensuring sustainable growth and development through further reforms and strategic investments.
On expenditure, Minister further narrated that as of June this year, the government had disbursed US$255.4 million of the US$315.4 million collected by the LRA.
Meanwhile, giving details of President Joseph Boakai’s efforts towards fiscal decentralization, Myers asserted that the Finance Ministry, together with the Ministry of Interior and partners, recently verified the provisions of the Revenue Sharing Law applicable to County Service Centers across the country, will retain 40 percent of the revenues generated by the state.
He said the President ordered the implementation of fiscal decentralization as part of administrative decentralization currently being implemented with the establishment of County Councils.
To advance the President’s vision of full implementation of the Local Government Act, Myers at the same time announced that a Local Government Finance Commission would be appointed whose task would be to set spending caps for the county on an annual basis.
Myers intoned that ten ministries and agencies have now agreed on the budget breakdown, strengthening county coffers as each county will be able to receive checks and vouchers that can be processed in each county.
He also announced that significant efforts are being put into preparing the National Development Plan, Public Sector Investment Plan, and District Development Plan to enable the smooth and effective running of the country.
Myers announced that the Ministry has since finalized plans with the General Audit Committee to conduct an audit of the Finance Ministry, and added that the audit period will be from January 1, 2022, to January 31, 2024.
