In its Saturday, May 30, meeting, the cabinet noted that this amount represents Domestic Revenue of US$465.61million; Grants/Budget Support of US$66.23 million; Borrowing of US$58.61; and Carry-forward (surplus from FY2014/15) of US$13.58 million.

According to an Executive Mansion release, the FY2015/16 budget is the first year estimate of Liberia’s second Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) budget program which supports the Agenda for Transformation (AfT), the post-Ebola Economic Stabilization and Recovery Plan (ESRP), and UNMIL transition program.

The release also indicated that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will submit the Fiscal Year 2015/2016 Draft National Budget to the National Legislature through the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Monday, June 1, 2015 following its endorsement by Cabinet.
Along with the approval of the projected resource envelop, the Cabinet also agreed that key areas of expenditure will include debt repayment (US$32.5 million); payment of salaries across the government (US$252.1 million); Social Development Fund and other pass through (US$23.2 million).

The Health Sector Strengthening (US$73.0 million); Education Sector Support (US$79.4 million) and Security& Rule of Law (US$90.1 million), including US$15 million for UNMIL Transition, as First Claims on the resource envelop.

Other key areas of funding agreed to by the Cabinet include the Government of Liberia’s contribution (Counterpart Funding) to ongoing donor financed public investment projects through loans and grants (US$24.5 million), and GoL’s Grants and Transfers to various institutions and entities (US$85.7 million) that contribute to Liberia’s socio-economic reconstruction.

Liberia’s National Budget for fiscal year 2014-2015 was US$660,236.000 million.
LINA GDJ/PTK