Government Reaffirms Commitment to Domestic Resource Mobilization as Minister Ngafuan Launches AfDB-Projects

Monrovia, Liberia - Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has reaffirmed the Government of Liberia’s commitment to strengthening domestic resource mobilization as a cornerstone for sustainable economic growth and improved public service delivery.

 “GDP growth must translate into real revenue that funds our priorities,”

 

 Minister Ngafuan said, underscoring the need to expand the domestic tax base, improve compliance, and reduce reliance on external borrowing.

 

Minister Ngafuan made the remarks on Thursday while officially launching two complementary projects aimed at enhancing Liberia’s domestic revenue mobilization, public financial management, debt transparency, and beneficial ownership frameworks.

 

The initiatives include an Institutional Support Project (approximately USD 18.3 million), a four-year program financed through African Development Bank (AfDB) facilities and the African Development Fund.

 

 The project seeks to strengthen tax policy and administration, budgeting, extractive-sector transparency, anti-corruption capacity, judicial and law-enforcement support, and other public finance functions across 14 beneficiary institutions.

 

The second initiative is a Debt and Beneficial Ownership Technical Assistance Project (approximately USD 1.3 million grant), designed to improve debt reporting, monitoring, and transparency, as well as to establish and strengthen beneficial ownership disclosure mechanisms.

 

Minister Ngafuan emphasized that stronger governance, robust anti-corruption measures, and judicial reforms are critical to increasing revenue efficiency and strengthening public trust.

 

 While reaffirming the government’s commitment to meeting its obligations to external partners, he noted that the administration will accelerate efforts to channel domestic resources toward agriculture, education, justice, and other priority sectors to build resilient public finances that deliver on citizens’ aspirations.

 

Speaking earlier, John Bosco Bukenya, Principal Country Program Officer at the AfDB Liberia Country Office, hailed the official launch of the projects and highlighted their importance to Liberia’s development agenda.

 

“This exercise that we are undergoing today is just the beginning of the journey. My emphasis as we launch this project is to ensure that these funds are fully disbursed—the loans to government and the grants. Anything that is not disbursed is a cost to the people of Liberia,” he said, urging prompt disbursement and close collaboration among stakeholders.

 

The Executive Director of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), Cllr. Alexandra Zoe, commended the AfDB and the Government of Liberia for the projects, noting that the support demonstrates recognition of the central role strong anti-corruption institutions play in successful reform implementation and domestic resource mobilization.

 

“On behalf of the Commission, we reaffirm our commitment to utilizing these resources responsibly, transparently, and in strict adherence to our mandate,” she said.

 

Minister of Justice, Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh, described the project as significant to ongoing reforms in the justice sector and stressed the urgent need to accelerate procurement, disbursement, and implementation to ensure timely delivery of results, especially in light of the one-year delay caused by ratification.

Deputy Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority, Gabriel Montgomery, noted that the projects will provide the logistical support and robust systems needed for the successful implementation of the Value Added Tax (VAT) in Liberia. 

 

He added that the initiatives will ensure institutional readiness and proper system processes for VAT success.

 

The projects will be implemented by the Project Management Unit within the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), in close collaboration with beneficiary agencies. The MFDP will oversee fiduciary, financial management, and reporting arrangements in line with AfDB and government guidelines.

 

Beneficiary institutions include the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (Revenue and Budget Divisions), Liberia Revenue Authority, Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, Financial Intelligence Agency, Ministry of Mines and Energy, Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Judiciary, Liberia National Police, Liberia Immigration Service, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Environmental Protection Agency, Ministry of Labor, the President’s Delivery Unit, and other agencies.