By Senator Amara Konneh (Senator Gbarpolu County)
My reaction to the House of Representatives’ swift approval of the FY26 Budget—totaling US$1.2 billion—without thorough scrutiny has sparked a nationwide wave of responses and even personal attacks from former colleagues. I firmly believe that standing up for careful examination is my constitutional duty as an elected Senator, and I remain committed to steering the debate toward the real issues.
Before this, I voiced my concerns to colleagues across both the Legislature and the Executive Branch, only to be ignored, just like they did in 2024 when we flagged and proved that the FY24 budget was manipulated. Nothing came out of that.
To those defending the illegal transfers I wrote about in an earlier post, I would like to remind you that the Budget Transfer Act of 2008 (relevant sections attached) is unambiguous. All monies appropriated for the various functions, projects, and activities contained in the annual budget and supplementary appropriation acts shall be available solely for the specific purposes for which they are appropriated. Transfers may be approved only when essential.
The transfers in question were not essential. They were routine, convenient, and reckless, with grave consequences for national development and citizen safety. While the law permits movement, it does not excuse the erosion of sector priorities or the dilution of legislative intent when it voted for the budget.
The Budget Transfer Act itself anticipates the need to adjust appropriations to accommodate significant changes in circumstances. But it also warns that excessive transfers across ministries, agencies, programs, or items can undermine accountability and the achievement of fiscal objectives.
𝟏. 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐃𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬
The justification of “essential” transfers must be weighed against actual fiscal conditions. The Liberia Revenue Authority has reported strong revenue performance, with domestic collections exceeding projections in multiple quarters. The government is not cash strapped. There was no urgent liquidity crisis that required stripping agriculture, RIA, or PSIP allocations to fund other ministries’ recurrent costs. These transfers were not driven by necessity; they were driven by choice. And that choice undermined declared priorities in the President’s, or should I say the Unity Party’s, ARREST Agenda we all support.
𝟐. 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬
- Roberts International Airport (RIA): Stripping 62 percent of its upgrade allocation has put the safety and lives of Liberians and international travelers at risk. Let me remind us that we all circulated on social media videos of airplanes aborting landings during the CDC regime due to a lack of electricity. Those of us who traveled through there know that the RIA needs upgrades. There are times when jetways and escalators are not functioning, and systems are down due to connectivity issues or other issues.
- Agriculture Value Chain: Diversion of $1.2 million from core programs has weakened progress in the very sector declared as the first pillar of the ARREST agenda, where the largest number of Liberians are employed.
- Landfill and Urban Sanitation Project: 50 percent of its allocation was diverted, undermining efforts to provide a clean and healthy city. Just look at how filthy Monrovia and its suburbs are. Let me also remind us that we criticized the CDC and circulated videos of mountains of garbage when they could not remove the “dump piles” on time.
- Revenue Enhancement Project: Funds meant to strengthen collection capacity were diverted, weakening fiscal sustainability.
These are not abstract reallocations. They are direct blows to infrastructure, public health, food security, and fiscal credibility.
𝟑. 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲
We do not oppose the use of General Claims. What we oppose is the opacity that arises when they are collapsed under a new spending entity without clear disclosure of how the funds will be managed, tracked, and reported. Without that clarity, transparency becomes nominal rather than functional, and legislative oversight is weakened. Accountability must be explicit.
The Legislature and the public need to know who is responsible for this new entity, who will answer questions about allocations, and how decisions will be documented. Inserting such a category into the budget without notifying or engaging the Legislature was wrong. It speaks to a disregard for both the spirit and the principle of fiscal accountability.
𝟒. 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬
This government came into power on a rescue mission, to correct wrongs and improve governance, not to justify present failures by pointing to past excesses. This is not a race to the bottom. It is not about personalities or past administrations. It is about current execution. The Senate’s role is to ensure that appropriations reflect national priorities and that execution delivers results. When budgetary practice undermines that, Legislative oversight is not optional; it is mandatory.
𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
This is about Liberia, not a political party or any individuals. We must stand against treating the national budget as petty cash, where the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning can move money at will without Legislative approval. While budget transfers may be lawful, the law established a process and checkpoints to guard against frivolous reallocations. The Act speaks clearly against excessive transfers that consistently divert funds from declared priorities, especially in a year of strong revenue performance.
My concern and caution to fellow Senators is not simply about transfers. It is about their impact on national development – agriculture, health, education, infrastructure, sanitation, and safety at our international airport.
We stand by our critique and call for tighter guardrails, real-time reporting, and outcome-based accountability, which the Public Accounts and Audits Committee will enforce in FY26. The UP won the election based on all of those messages and should not be afraid of an enlightened public on the budget.
