By Contributing Writer
MONROVIA – A fresh wave of controversy has come to light over Liberia’s public financial management, with former Assistant Minister for Development Planning Benedict Kolubah accusing Finance Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan of serious legal violations and calling for his immediate arrest.
Kolubah, in a series of public statements, alleged that Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan unlawfully reallocated approximately US$40 million in domestic revenue and overspent the 2025 national budget, actions he says contravene the Amended and Restated Public Financial Management (PFM) Law of 2019.
“Fellow Liberians, the Minister must be arrested,” Kolubah declared, insisting that the financial figures contained in recent government reports expose what he described as unconstitutional fiscal practices.
At the center of his argument is the claim that domestic revenue, which exceeded projections, was redirected to cover a shortfall in external financing, particularly funding expected from the World Bank.
According to Kolubah, such a move effectively altered the structure of the approved budget without legislative authorization. “Substituting domestic revenue for external financing without a Supplementary Appropriation Act undermines the Legislature’s authority,” he argued.
He further cited official financial records indicating that total government spending for 2025 reached over US$882 million, surpassing the legislatively approved ceiling of approximately US$880.6 million.
“This represents an unauthorized over-expenditure of more than US$2.1 million,” Kolubah stated, adding that the PFM Law prohibits such excess spending without proper approval.
Beyond these claims, Kolubah also challenged public defenses mounted by some commentators who have sought to justify the figures, dismissing their arguments as flawed and misleading.
“I have seen these narratives trending on social media by people who may not even have read their own report,” he said, vowing to counter their claims “mathematically.”
He alleged that financial reports for 2024 and 2025 contain instances of double counting, particularly involving transactions from a 90-day financial window that he claims were recorded in both fiscal years.
“The same transactions are counted twice across two fiscal years,” Kolubah asserted. “This is not a minor error but a breach of accounting principles.”
According to him, the duplication involves approximately US$125 million in revenue and expenditure figures, which he argues distorts the country’s fiscal position and creates inconsistencies in reported surpluses and deficits.
“If we adjust the figures as suggested by some defenders, the numbers collapse into contradictions, including spending more than was actually collected,” he said.
Kolubah maintains that such discrepancies point to deeper systemic issues within Liberia’s financial reporting framework and raise questions about transparency and accountability.
He also referenced what he described as a two-year pattern of fiscal irregularities, combining data from 2024 and 2025 to argue that the government exceeded approved budgets and failed to properly account for surplus revenues.
“Records show a budget overrun and cash overspending across the two fiscal years,” he claimed, warning that these actions fall within the definition of “excess expenditure” under the law.
Citing provisions of the PFM Law, Kolubah insisted that any surplus revenue must be subjected to legislative approval, while expenditures must remain within approved limits.
“These breaches constitute violations that demand accountability,” he said, adding that the law prescribes penalties, including imprisonment, for such offenses.
Kolubah went further to suggest that the alleged violations could warrant up to five years imprisonment under Section 64 of the PFM Law, a position that has intensified public debate around the issue.
Despite criticism from some quarters, he has challenged his detractors to engage in an open review of the financial statements, pointing specifically to detailed pages in both the 2024 and 2025 reports.
“I encourage those in the debate to read the reports and engage me publicly,” he said, expressing confidence in his analysis.
The allegations have sparked renewed scrutiny of Liberia’s fiscal governance, with observers noting that the claims, if substantiated, could have significant political and legal implications for the Boakai administration.
As of now, there has been no official response from Minister Ngafuan or the Ministry of Finance regarding the specific allegations raised by Kolubah.
