Liberia: Rep. Gleekia Calls for End to Revenue Leakages, Unrealistic Budget Ceilings

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Nimba County District #6 Representative and Chair of the House Committee on Ways, Means, and Finance, Dorwohn Gleekia, has issued a strong call for the Government of Liberia to urgently address persistent revenue leakages and unrealistic budget ceilings, which he said have long hindered effective national development.

Rep. Gleekia made the remarks on Tuesday, July 15, at the official launch of the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY2026) Budget Preparation Process, held at the E.J. Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Congo Town.

The event, organized by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), marked the beginning of government-wide consultations to prepare the national budget in line with the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development.

“The issue of revenue leakage is something we have to address,” Gleekia stressed. “If we cannot fix this problem, we will never reach our goal of a bigger plus budget. And if we keep ignoring it, our people will continue to suffer.”

Gleekia also decried the current structure of the national budget, where a disproportionate amount of resources is consumed by recurrent spending, leaving little room for actual development projects.

“This current budget is around US$880 million, but US$774 million of that goes to recurrent expenditure alone,” he said. “How then do we talk about building schools, fixing roads, or supporting agriculture when nearly everything goes to salaries and operations?”

He criticized the long-standing practice where spending entities are given unrealistic budget ceilings, which ultimately undermines effective service delivery.

“Low budget ceilings for spending entities have been a consistent problem. We see ministries and agencies receiving allocations that are too small to make any real impact,” Gleekia explained. “This needs to change. We cannot continue to approve budgets that don’t reflect the actual needs of the Liberian people.”

In what he described as a new chapter in budget planning, Rep. Gleekia applauded the collaboration between the executive and legislative branches in the early stages of the budgeting process, a shift from past practices.

“It might seem unusual for the Legislature to be part of this process so early, but coordination is key,” he stated. “Yes, the law says the budget should originate from the executive and come to us for approval. But Article 3 also calls for coordination. That’s what brought us here today.”

He pointed to the success of the FY2025 national budget, which was passed and implemented on time–an unprecedented achievement made possible through early engagement.

“For the first time, budget execution began on January 1, the very start of the fiscal year,” he noted. “That happened because we worked together. The Minister of Finance pleaded with us to support timely passage, and we did.”

Gleekia also praised the Ministry of Finance’s efforts to improve domestic revenue mobilization under the leadership of Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, but called for more commitment and transparency.

“We’ve seen some improvements, and we’ve given the Finance Ministry a little trial. It’s working, but we want to do more,” he said. “Revenue mobilization must be taken seriously, and we are here to give it our fullest support.”

He referenced the recent performance contract signing between the President and cabinet officials as a sign of serious intent to improve fiscal governance and service delivery.

“When the President and his team signed performance contracts, it showed us how serious this government is,” he said. “We in the Legislature are equally committed to seeing our country move toward a bigger and more realistic budget.”

Looking forward to the FY2026 fiscal plan, Rep. Gleekia said the goal is not just to pass another budget, but to raise more domestic revenue, close leakages, and increase investment in development priorities.