He Vows To Help Ease Liberia’s Rising Debt Burden

PHOTO: FLASHBACK Ngafuan taking oath during his Senate confirmation hearing

Agustine K. Ngafuan served as Finance Minister during the last Unity Party (UP) government of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and now he is making his second coming in this same capacity in the second UP government of current President Joseph Nyuma Boakai.

After facing Senate confirmation last week, Mr. Ngfuan has now been confirmed by the Senate as Minister of Finance and Development Planning.

“I come in genuflection (bow) to the Almighty God, the Omnipotent, the Omniscient, and the Omnipresent, who has made this day possible,” the incoming Finance Minister has said.

As he prepares to take office, Mr. Ngafuan has said: “Our development agenda must be the bedrock of our national budget,” he emphasized. Ngafuan committed to driving the AAID process to completion, aiming for its official launch by November this year. “One of my top priorities will be to drive the process to its logical and timely conclusion,” he said.

During his confirmation hearing at the Senate recently, he stressed the importance of easing the rising debt burden on the Liberian government saying that, “prudent and disciplined debt management is not a choice; it’s a necessity, and I will treat it as such”.

In an alarm, Mr. Ngafuan told the Senate that “as of June 2024, Liberia’s total debt had surged to a concerning $2.58 billion, with $1.078 billion (41.9%) in domestic debt and $1.50 billion (58.1%) in external debt”.