MONROVIA – In a development that has stirred significant debate within Liberia’s fiscal policy circles, former Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Benedict Kolubah, has formally challenged the accuracy of recent statements made by Finance Minister Augustine Ngafuan. The dispute centers on the government’s performance in managing the national debt-to-GDP ratio, a critical metric for international creditors, foreign investors, and the structural integrity of the Liberian economy. The contention arose following remarks attributed to Minister Ngafuan during the African Development Bank (AfDB) - African Development Fund (ADF) Steering Committee meeting held at the Monrovia City Hall. During this high-level forum, Minister Ngafuan reportedly stated that the current Unity Party-led administration inherited a debt-to-GDP ratio of 57.
8 percent. He further claimed that through strategic fiscal consolidation and disciplined expenditure management, the administration had successfully reduced this figure to 49.6 percent, representing an 8.2 percentage point decline.
These figures, if accurate, would represent a significant achievement in macroeconomic stabilization for a nation currently navigating the complexities of post-pandemic recovery and inflationary pressures. However, Benedict Kolubah, leveraging his background as a former technical official within the finance ministry, has publicly contested these numbers, arguing that they do not align with the audited reports published by the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL). According to Kolubah, the figures presented by the Minister appear to misrepresent the trajectory of the national debt, which has seen substantial growth rather than reduction over the past two years. Kolubah’s challenge is rooted in the annual reports of the Central Bank of Liberia.
He pointed to official records stating that in 2023, Liberia’s total public debt stood at approximately US$3.6 billion. Conversely, the most recent CBL data for 2025 places the national debt at US$5.216 billion.
'Hon. Minister, based on these facts, if you actually made those statements about debt-to-GDP, please respectfully and professionally take them back or provide your source to prove the CBL wrong,' Kolubah wrote in his formal response. The discrepancy between the Finance Ministry’s narrative and the Central Bank’s data highlights a deeper issue regarding data integrity and transparency in Liberia’s fiscal reporting. In many developing economies, the synchronization of statistics between the central bank and the ministry of finance is paramount to maintaining institutional credibility.
When these two pillars of government disseminate conflicting information, it complicates the task of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other development partners who rely on these metrics to assess Liberia’s debt sustainability. The implications of this dispute extend far beyond mere numbers. The debt-to-GDP ratio is a primary indicator of a country's ability to pay back its debts. For Liberia, which has recently faced fiscal volatility linked to global commodity price fluctuations and the rising costs of imports, accurate debt reporting is essential for maintaining investor confidence.
If the debt has indeed increased from US$3.6 billion to over US$5 billion, the fiscal burden on the Liberian taxpayer is significant. This growth in debt stock is often attributed to the expansion of public infrastructure projects, the servicing of legacy debt, and the persistent need for budgetary support to meet payroll and operational costs in the public sector. The Ministry of Finance’s attempt to present a lower debt-to-GDP ratio could be interpreted as an effort to showcase fiscal prudence to international stakeholders.
However, Kolubah’s intervention suggests that such narratives may be disconnected from the actual fiscal reality reflected in official banking records. This incident also draws attention to the broader political climate in Liberia, where the management of public funds has become a central theme in national discourse. Governance and transparency advocates are increasingly calling for a more harmonized approach to economic data, warning that inconsistent reporting undermines public trust and complicates policy formulation. Furthermore, the role of the Central Bank of Liberia as an independent arbiter of financial statistics is being tested.
Historically, the CBL has been viewed as a repository of reliable, objective data. By citing the CBL against the Finance Minister, Kolubah is effectively elevating the status of the bank’s reports over the political rhetoric of the executive branch. Regionally, Liberia’s fiscal stability is a matter of interest to ECOWAS and the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), where member states are expected to adhere to specific convergence criteria, including debt-to-GDP limits. Discrepancies in reporting could affect Liberia’s regional standing and its ability to participate effectively in monetary integration efforts.
The Minister has yet to provide a public clarification or a formal rebuttal to the evidence presented by the former assistant minister. Political observers argue that this silence may be perceived as a vulnerability in the administration’s economic messaging. For the current government, which is tasked with delivering on its campaign promises while managing a mounting debt pile, the need for transparency is more acute than ever. As the debate continues, stakeholders are urging the Ministry of Finance to release a detailed breakdown of the debt-to-GDP calculation to clear the air.
Professional economists argue that the focus should not merely be on the debt-to-GDP percentage, but on the composition of the debt—distinguishing between concessional loans and commercial borrowing—and the capacity of the revenue-generating agencies to service these obligations without stifling the growth of the private sector. The clash between Minister Ngafuan and Kolubah serves as a reminder that in an era of digital information and heightened public scrutiny, the government’s fiscal narrative must be airtight and supported by cross-referenced, institutional data. Whether this dispute leads to a policy correction or a shift in how the government communicates its fiscal strategy remains to be seen. In the coming weeks, civil society organizations and economic analysts are expected to hold town halls and roundtables to dissect the 2025 financial report, hoping to bridge the gap between the government’s stated goals and the harsh realities of the national balance sheet.
For now, the credibility of Liberia’s fiscal reporting remains under the microscope, as citizens and investors alike wait to see which data set—the Ministry’s or the Central Bank’s—will prevail in the court of public opinion. The integrity of these institutions is not just a matter of technical record-keeping, but a fundamental prerequisite for the sustainable economic development of the nation.
