House freezes draft recast budget.

Speaker Koffa announced that the House has taken additional measures to improve the budgetary process and address allegations of budget tampering.

By Bridgett Milton 

Monrovia, August 30, 2024: The House of Representatives has put a hold on its deliberation on the draft recast budget pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation into alleged budget alteration.

House Speaker Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa recently launched an investigation into claims that the 2024 National Budget had been altered.

According to Speaker Koffa, the House will refer the matter to its leadership to ensure the condition precedent is met.

Inside the chambers of the House of Representatives

The alleged budget alteration has brought separation between some Legislators, with some accusing the Executive of altering the budget.

However, some lawmakers have blamed the Legislature’s leadership for the alleged budget alteration.

Amidst the conflict among lawmakers, Speaker Koffa has put a hold on the draft recast envelope until their concerns are addressed.

He has assured members of the House and the public that the issues will be resolved in the coming days.

Two weeks ago, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning submitted the FY2024 Draft Recast Budget to the House of Representatives, following concerns over the original budget’s financial integrity.

On Friday, August 16, Acting Finance Minister Anthony Myers presented the recast budget, explaining that the revisions were necessary due to the budget’s performance in the first six months of the year.

He emphasized the need to rebalance the budget to reflect revenue performance and ensure the protection of critical expenditures that are the country’s priorities.

“This recast is based on our observation of the budget performance in the first six months of the year and the need to rebalance the budget in response to revenue performance while safeguarding critical expenditures that are priorities for the country,” he said.

Upon receiving the Draft Recast Budget on behalf of the 55th Legislature, Speaker Koffa urged the Ministry to provide all necessary supporting documents to facilitate the Ways, Means, and Finance Committee’s scrutiny of the Recast budget.

“We have received this communication on behalf of the President, with several notations, even as we accept it,” Speaker Koffa added.

To improve the budgetary process and address allegations of budget tampering, Speaker Koffa announced that the House has taken additional measures.

These include the formation of a special investigative committee to probe the alleged budget alterations.

“The first step is to understand and resolve the issue of budget tampering,” Speaker Koffa said.

“As you present this budget, we also expect reports on budget outturn and any off-budget spending.”

The special investigative committee is chaired by Bong County Electoral District #4 Representative Robert Wongbe, with Montserrado County Electoral District 7 Representative Emmanuel Dahn serving as co-chair.

Other members include Representative Thomas Romeo Quioh, Sekou Kanneh, and Sumo Mulbah.