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Gbarnga, Bong County – Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan said Liberia’s national budget has grown from $738 million to $1.3 billion in just over two years, citing new schools, road projects, and civil service pay increases as evidence the country is moving forward.
Speaking Friday, May 15, 2026, at the launch of the National Cadet Program in Gbarnga, Ngafuan said the increase was driven by higher domestic revenue from tighter collection and improved tax administration. He contrasted the current supplementary budget, which adds to spending due to a surplus, with past recast budgets that cut appropriations because of shortfalls.
The minister said the additional funds are supporting recruitment into the army, police, and immigration service, and placing more volunteer health and education workers and chiefs on the government payroll.
Ngafuan outlined several ongoing initiatives under the administration. He said the government is starting construction and rehabilitation of more than 100 foundational learning schools across all 15 counties, along with building and renovating high schools, including those in the Monrovia Consolidated School System.
On infrastructure, he noted work to pave roads to the South-East, including routes to Zwedru, Fish Town, and Harper. Rehabilitation and paving are also underway from the Free Port to St. Paul Bridge and Bo Water Side, with plans to pave the Salayea to Voinjama and Mendikorma to Voinjama highways.
He added that electricity access has expanded in Monrovia, along the RIA Highway, Buchanan, and other cities, allowing businesses and other activities to extend into the night.
Ngafuan also said salaries and incentives for critical professionals have increased, including for health workers at C.B. Dunbar Hospital in Gbarnga who received higher pay starting January 2025. Harmonization has been fully reversed at the General Auditing Commission, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, and for members of the Supreme Court and subordinate courts, with increases applied to other judiciary staff, engineers, and professionals across government.
The minister rejected claims that Liberia is regressing. “By and large, Liberia is going forward, not backward,” he said. Using a marathon and flight metaphor, he described the development process as long and uneven, but said President Joseph Boakai is piloting the country toward its targets.
Ngafuan said Liberia’s international standing has also improved, with the country now serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and strengthening ties with the World Bank, IMF, African Development Bank, EU, and bilateral partners including the U.S., China, and France.
