Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (Liberia)
Government ministry of Liberia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) is a ministry of the Government of Liberia responsible for public finance, economic management and national development planning. Its responsibilities include formulating fiscal and economic policy, preparing and administering the national budget, managing government debt and public investment, and coordinating national development programs.[1]
- Ministry of Finance
- Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs[1]
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| Ministry overview | |
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| Formed | September 2013[1] |
Preceding agencies |
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| Jurisdiction | Government of Liberia |
| Headquarters | |
Minister responsible |
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| Website | www |
The ministry is headed by the minister of finance and development planning, who is appointed by the President of Liberia with the consent of the Senate of Liberia. The minister is required to submit an annual report on the ministry's activities and operations to the president and the Legislature of Liberia.[1]
History
Liberia's central government finance administration dates back to the establishment of the republic. Government finances were initially administered by a Secretary of the Treasury, with John N. Lewis recorded as holding the office in 1848.[4] The office was replaced by the position of Minister of Finance in 1972.[4]
In 2006, the Liberian government began a public-sector reform program intended to reduce duplication among government ministries, agencies and commissions and allow them to concentrate on their principal functions. As part of the program, the government proposed consolidating public finance, economic management and development-planning functions within a new Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and transferring revenue collection and administration to a separate Liberia Revenue Authority.[5]
A presidential steering committee was established in early 2011 to oversee the reform process. The committee was supported by the African Center for Economic Transformation, the Governance Commission, the Law Reform Commission and representatives of the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs. Consultations were subsequently held with public- and private-sector stakeholders concerning the proposed legislation establishing the new ministry and the Liberia Revenue Authority.[5]
In September 2013, the Legislature of Liberia enacted legislation establishing the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.[1] The MFDP was created as a new ministry rather than as a formal merger of the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs. The two predecessor ministries were dissolved, and their principal functions were transferred to the MFDP.[5]
The personnel, assets and remaining budgets of the former ministries were transferred to the new institution. The reform also devolved certain transactional and sector-management responsibilities to other government ministries, while the MFDP retained financial oversight and responsibility for policy formulation, economic planning and financial analysis.[5]
Revenue collection and administration functions previously performed by the Ministry of Finance were transferred to the Liberia Revenue Authority. The MFDP retained responsibility for fiscal and revenue policy through its fiscal-affairs functions.[5]
Mandate and functions
The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning is responsible for formulating, institutionalizing and administering Liberia's economic, development, fiscal and tax policies in order to promote sound and efficient management of the government's financial resources.[1] The ministry is also empowered to administer the provisions of its establishing act and perform other functions provided by law.[1]
Under the 2013 establishing act, the minister's statutory duties include preparing expenditure budget proposals, disbursing government funds in accordance with legislative appropriations, overseeing public investments, and supervising the negotiation, servicing and restructuring of domestic and foreign government debt incurred or guaranteed by the government and its instrumentalities.[1] The ministry also coordinates government policies and programs relating to fiscal policy, credit, economic development, international finance, trade and investment.[1]
The ministry is further responsible for formulating long-range, medium-term and annual plans for national resource mobilization and development; conducting economic research and policy analysis; monitoring and evaluating development projects and programs; appraising proposed projects; and providing planning and budget-preparation guidance to ministries and agencies.[1]
Organization
The 2013 establishing act organized the ministry into the Office of the Minister and four principal departments.[1]
- Minister of Finance and Development Planning
- Technical advisers
- ECOWAS National Unit
- European Union National Authorizing Office
- Private Sector Development Unit
- Legal Unit
- Integrity and Professional Responsibility Unit
- Public Financial Management Reform Unit
- Internal Audit Unit
- Deputy Minister for Fiscal Affairs
- Fiscal Decentralization Unit
- Comptroller and Accountant General
- Expenditure Division
- Revenue and Tax Policy Division
- Deputy Minister for Economic Management
- Economic Policy, Macroeconomic and Financial Sector Division
- External Resources and Debt Management Division
- Deputy Minister for Budget and Development Planning
- Budget Division
- Regional and Sectoral Planning and Coordination Division
- Deputy Minister for Administration
- Administration Division
The deputy ministers oversee their respective departments. The Deputy Minister for Fiscal Affairs serves as the minister's principal assistant and acts on the minister's behalf in his absence.[1]
The Department of the Comptroller and Accountant General is responsible for government accounting, financial reporting and treasury-management functions.[6]
Budget and staffing
For fiscal year 2026, the ministry received an original appropriation of US$27,838,609. The approved supplementary budget added US$1,788,077, increasing the ministry's revised appropriation to US$29,626,686.[7]
The supplementary allocation consisted of US$363,077 for coordination of the President's ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development, US$150,000 for check-printing equipment, US$475,000 for payroll information-technology systems, US$300,000 for budget software and US$500,000 for an internship program.[7]
In 2013, the government planned to transfer approximately 600 employees from the former Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs to the MFDP. An additional 1,100 employees from the former Ministry of Finance's Revenue Department were designated for transfer to the Liberia Revenue Authority, while approximately 500 other employees were to be retired, reassigned or made redundant.[5] These figures described the ministry's transitional staffing arrangements and do not necessarily represent its current workforce.
Historical officeholders
The following individuals served as Liberia's principal public finance officials before the establishment of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning in 2013.
Secretaries of the Treasury (1848–1972)
- John N. Lewis, 1848-?[8]
- John H. Chavers, ?-?[8]
- Stephen Allen Benson, ?-1856[8]
- B. J. K. Anderson, 1863-?[8]
- William Highland Lynch, ?-1864[8]
- Daniel Bashiel Warner, 1864-1866[9]
- John C. Chavers, 1866-?[8]
- Edward J. Roye, ?-?[10]
- Frederick Keith Hyde, ?-1868[8]
- Daniel Beams, 1868-1869[11]
- B. V. R. James 1869[9]
- B. J. K. Anderson, 1870[11]
- John F. Dennis, 1870-1871[8]
- Edward Farrow Roye, 1871-?[8][12]
- Henry W. Dennis, 1874-1876[8]
- James T. Wiles, 1876[8]
- John R. Freeman, 1876[8]
- B. J. K. Anderson, 1876-1878[11]
- William H. Roe, 1878-1883[13]
- Moore T. Worrell, 1883-1892[8][13]
- Arthur Barclay, 1896–1903[9]
- Daniel Edward Howard, 1904-1912[8]
- Thomas W. Haynes, 1912[14][8]
- John L. Morris, 1912-1914-?[14]
- James F. Cooper, 1915-1917[9]
- Walter F. Walker, 1917-1920[15]
- J. Jeremiah Harris, 1920-1926-?[8]
- A. W. Melon, ?-1927-?[9]
- Samuel George Harmon, 1928-?[8][16]
- James F. Cooper, 1930[9][17]
- John L. Morris, 1930-?[8][17]
- Dixon Byrd Brown, 1932-1933[9]
- Gabriel Lafayette Dennis, 1933-1940[18]
- William E. Dennis, 1944-1958[8]
- Charles Dunbar Sherman, 1958-1968[19]
- James Milton Weeks, 1968-1971[8]
- James Milton Weeks, 1971-1972[20]
Ministers of Finance
- Stephen A. Tolbert, 1972-1975[8][20]
- Edwin Williams, 1975-1976[8][20]
- James T. Phillips, 1976-1979[8][20]
- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, 1979-1980[8][20]
- Perry G. Zulu, 1980-1981[8][20]
- George K. Dunye, 1981[8][20]
- G. Alvin Jones, 1981-1986[8][20]
- Robert C. Tubman, 1986-1987[citation needed]
- John G. Bestman, 1987-1988[citation needed]
- David Farhat, 1988-1989[citation needed]
- Emmanuel Shaw, 1989-1990[21]
- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, 1990[22]
- Stephen Byron Tarr, January - November 1991[23]
- Francis C. Karpeh, June 1991 - March 1994[23]
- Wilson Tarpeh, May 1994- August 1995[23]
- Lansana Kromah, September 1995 - August 1997[23]
- Elias Saleeby, August 1997-1999[20]
- John G. Bestman, 1999[20]
- Milton Nathaniel Barnes, 1999-2002[24]
- Charles Bright, 2002-2003[25]
- Lusine Kamara, 2003-2006[26]
- Antoinette Sayeh, 2006-2008[27]
- Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, 2008[28]-2012[29]
Ministers of Finance and Development Planning (2013–present)
- Amara Konneh, 2012-2016[30]
- Boima Kamara, 2016-2018[31]
- Samuel D. Tweah, 2018-2024[32]
- Boima Kamara, 2024[33]
- Anthony Myers, acting, 2024[34]
- Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan 2024–present[35][36]