By Bill W. Cooper
The Liberian Senate was on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, a scene of drama after Finance Minister, Augustine K. Ngafuan found himself in the hot seat as he struggled to justify a controversial allocation of US$374,379 for K-Power in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget.
The country’s 2025 approved fiscal envelope has come under serious criticism following revelations from some Liberians, including exiled activist, Martin Kollie, that US$374,379 was allocated to the Turkish Karpowership deal in FY2024 despite the government rejecting the agreement.
The amount, as being discussed is listed under the “outturn” section on page 278 of the budget, as it was also captured under the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC).
This controversial allocation of the private energy company has since raised eyebrows among lawmakers and citizens alike, prompting questions about transparency, accountability, and the government’s commitment to public service.
Karpower is a private Turkish company operating a floating power plant, and it is currently operating in several African countries, including neighboring Serra Leone but the company has, on several occasions, engaged the government to operate, but to no avail.
In 2024, the Turkish company engaged six African countries, including Liberia, in discussions about expanding its floating power plant services, but the deal collapsed due to some unexplained issues, with some opponents to deal arguing it only offered a short-term fix to Liberia’s long-standing energy crisis.
However, at the Senate hearing, which was intended for the Minister to provide a reason for the delayed in the submission of the approved budget to Senators, then took a U-turn when Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon raised the issue about the allocation for K-Power in the budget.
Buttressing his assertion, Maryland County Senator Gbleh-bo Brown also accused the Executive Branch of not adhering to the Senate’s decision to remove budgetary allocation for Karpower despite it being removed by lawmakers during the FY2024 budget recast.
He wondered, “I am confused to see that the Finance Ministry still keeps Karpower in the budget and used that budget in excess, but they are saying they did not use the money for Karpower. So, what it was used for? Why did the MFDP keep the US$374,000 allocated to Karpower? Where did the money go?”
In response to the Senator’s inquiry, Minister Ngafuan, flanked by his Deputy Minister for Budget, Tenneh Brumskine, emphatically stated there was no budget line for the Karpower project in the FY2025 budget, and neither a “dime” was spent on them.
When further pushed by the Senators concerning the allocation, Ngafuan asserted, “Distinguished Senators, as I said before, unless my Deputy Minister, chose to lie to me, but as per what I was told, not a dime was given to Karpower, and they are in the budget under LEC budget line.”
The Minister, however, flip-flopped by saying, “I stand by my statement that a dime was never given to Karpower. However, the money allocated to them was diverted to the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) for the repatriation and resettlement of Liberian refugees from Ghana.”
However, Ngafuan clarification did not go well with some of the Senators, with Senator Brown describing the form and manner in which the allocation was made and the explanation from the Minister as ” a deception and a disservice” to the citizenry and country.
Also venting his anger was Sinoe County Senator Augustine Chea, who argued that funds approved, passed, and signed into law by the Legislature and approved by the President are always expended for different purposes under the pretense of acting by the law.
But Minister Ngafuan, in reaction further disclosed that he inherited a plethora of legacy problems that have been at the ministry for years, but pleaded that with the support of his team and Legislature, they are working to address them.
According to him, the country’s budget for contingency is very low. As such, the government must ensure funds are available to execute other unexpected functions, such as by-elections, among others.
He maintained, “The budget has appropriations, and those appropriations are intentions. Over the course of the budget year, new priorities emerge. For instance, we did not budget for a by-election in Nimba, but constitutionally, it must be held.
And based on the outcome of this pending by-election, who knows, another by-election might be required as such, we might again, need a budget for it, and we have to deal with it because it is constitutional,” the Minister noted.
Minister Ngafuan further clarified that when these issues arise, the Ministry of Finance looks at existing appropriations to serve as funding sources to address them, and asserted, “Some of the demonstrations you see, when they escalate, require us to use state contingency funds.
“These appropriations are used to manage such situations. Another case is the US$3 million allocated annually for the renovation of the Executive Mansion. This fund was never stolen but was redirected to address other issues. So, not a dime was given Karpower,” he added. Meanwhile, with a lack of satisfaction from the majority of the Senators, the Senate Plenary then voted to keep the Minister under oath, with a mandate to reappear before that body next Tuesday with relevant documents to continue the hearing.