{"id":14254,"date":"2023-03-23T16:38:22","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T15:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=14254"},"modified":"2023-03-23T16:38:25","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T15:38:25","slug":"misleading-to-suggest-weah-increased-armed-forces-of-liberia-budget-by-us4-million-in-2022-fiscal-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/misleading-to-suggest-weah-increased-armed-forces-of-liberia-budget-by-us4-million-in-2022-fiscal-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Misleading to suggest Weah increased Armed Forces of Liberia budget by US$4 million in 2022 fiscal year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Claim: The Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) claimed that \u201cPresident George Weah increased the army’s budget by US$4 million in FY 2022.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Verdict: Misleading! The FY 2022 national budget shows that the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL)\u2019s budget was increased by US$2,881,211m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Armed Forces of Liberia<\/a> has historically been to defend and guard the Country\u2019s borders, safeguard national security, and protect the population from external aggression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It became the Armed Forces of Liberia in 1970 from the Liberian National Guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On January 13, 2023, the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) took<\/a> to its official Facebook page to highlight the numerous achievements President George Weah made during five years. It was cited that \u201cPresident George Weah increased the army budget by US$4 million in FY 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ministry of Information Cultural (MICAT)\u2019s post<\/a> about the AFL first under section 11, themed: \u201cPUBLIC SAFETY & NATIONAL SECURITY,\u201d attracted 172 reactions, 166 comments and 117 as of March 1, 2023, with commenters having mixed views about the post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But did it mean that MICAT\u2019s post about the army\u2019s budgetary increment was also a great booster to the AFL operations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA verified facts surrounding the ministry\u2019s claim and further ascertained what the increment meant for the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verification<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The fiscal year (FY) 2022 of the Armed Forces of Liberia (ALF)<\/a> was examined by DUBAWA, and it revealed that the AFL, which is a department under the direction and supervision of the Ministry of National Defense, was budgetarily allocated US$16,361,844m of the US$18,695,921m the Defense Ministry received that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To verify the actual figure of the army\u2019s budget was increased in FY 2022, DUBAWA checked the FY 2020-2021, and it shows that the AFL got US$13,480,633m of the US$14,412,445 the Ministry of National Defense received.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, in 2021, a \u201cSpecial National Budget, Fiscal Year 2021\u201d was passed, and on that budget, the AFL received US$2,464,633m of the US$7,853,070m that was given to the Defense Ministry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, the ALF was allocated US$16,361,844m of the US$18,695,921m the Defense Ministry received.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Screenshot of the AFL budget.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This researcher then visited the legislative budget office (LBO), a technical arm<\/a> of the legislature that provides an objective, impartial, and professional analysis of the national budget, to establish if the 2021 Special Budget is also a part of the 2020-2021 FY, and they clarified that \u201cthe\u00a0 Special National Budget, Fiscal Year 2021, which ran from July 2021 to December 2021, was a budget year all by itself and cannot be combined with any other budget year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AFL\u2019s FY 2020-2021 budget was then subtracted from the FY 2022 budget, and the math resulted in a US$2,881,211m increment, contrary to MICAT\u2019s claim that the army\u2019s budget was increased by $4 million in FY 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This researcher reached out to the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Liberia (AFL), Major General Prince Johnson, to have him speak to MICAT\u2019s claim and the content of the budget. Still, Gen Johnson stated, \u201cWhen we say our budget was increased by $4 million in FY 2022, we meant the Ministry of National Defense, which includes: Central Administration, the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) and the Liberia Coast Guard; not specifically the AFL.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subtracting the Ministry of National Defense FY 2020-2021 from their FY 2022 showed that FY 2022 increased by US$4,283,476m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what did the increase mean for the ALF?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Chief of Staff explained that \u201cthe increment of the army\u2019s FY 2022 budget boosted the operations of the ALF through recruitment of more AFL personnel, promotions of the institution, and renovations of our barracks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The FY 2022 budget reveals that the Ministry of National Defense budget was increased by US$ 4 million and not the AFL. Therefore, MICAT\u2019s claim that \u201cPresident George Weah increased the army\u2019s budget by US$4 million in FY 2022\u201d is misleading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

”The researcher produced this fact-check per the DUBAWA 2023 Kwame KariKari Fellowship in partnership with The Stage Media \u2013 Liberia, to facilitate the ethos of \u201ctruth\u201d in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Claim: The Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) claimed that \u201cPresident George Weah increased the army’s budget by US$4 million in FY 2022.\u201d Verdict: Misleading! The FY 2022 national budget shows that the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL)\u2019s budget was increased by US$2,881,211m. Full Text The Armed Forces of Liberia has historically been to defend and guard the Country\u2019s borders, safeguard national security, and protect the population from external aggression. It became the Armed Forces of Liberia in 1970 from the Liberian National Guard. On January 13, 2023, the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) took to its official Facebook page to highlight the numerous achievements President George Weah made during five years. It was cited that \u201cPresident George Weah increased the army budget by US$4 million in FY 2022.\u201d Ministry of Information Cultural (MICAT)\u2019s post about the AFL first under section 11, themed: \u201cPUBLIC SAFETY & NATIONAL SECURITY,\u201d attracted 172 reactions, 166 comments and 117 as of March 1, 2023, with commenters having mixed views about the post. But did it mean that MICAT\u2019s post about the army\u2019s budgetary increment was also a great booster to the AFL operations? DUBAWA verified facts surrounding the ministry\u2019s claim and further ascertained what the increment meant for the military. Verification The fiscal year (FY) 2022 of the Armed Forces of Liberia (ALF) was examined by DUBAWA, and it revealed that the AFL, which is a department under the direction and supervision of the Ministry of National Defense, was budgetarily allocated US$16,361,844m of the US$18,695,921m the Defense Ministry received that year. To verify the actual figure of the army\u2019s budget was increased in FY 2022, DUBAWA checked the FY 2020-2021, and it shows that the AFL got US$13,480,633m of the US$14,412,445 the Ministry of National Defense received. Also, in 2021, a \u201cSpecial National Budget, Fiscal Year 2021\u201d was passed, and on that budget, the AFL received US$2,464,633m of the US$7,853,070m that was given to the Defense Ministry.  In 2022, the ALF was allocated US$16,361,844m of the US$18,695,921m the Defense Ministry received. This researcher then visited the legislative budget office (LBO), a technical arm of the legislature that provides an objective, impartial, and professional analysis of the national budget, to establish if the 2021 Special Budget is also a part of the 2020-2021 FY, and they clarified that \u201cthe\u00a0 Special National Budget, Fiscal Year 2021, which ran from July 2021 to December 2021, was a budget year all by itself and cannot be combined with any other budget year.\u201d The AFL\u2019s FY 2020-2021 budget was then subtracted from the FY 2022 budget, and the math resulted in a US$2,881,211m increment, contrary to MICAT\u2019s claim that the army\u2019s budget was increased by $4 million in FY 2022. This researcher reached out to the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Liberia (AFL), Major General Prince Johnson, to have him speak to MICAT\u2019s claim and the content of the budget. Still, Gen Johnson stated, \u201cWhen we say our budget was increased by $4 million in FY 2022, we meant the Ministry of National Defense, which includes: Central Administration, the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) and the Liberia Coast Guard; not specifically the AFL.\u201d Subtracting the Ministry of National Defense FY 2020-2021 from their FY 2022 showed that FY 2022 increased by US$4,283,476m. But what did the increase mean for the ALF? The Chief of Staff explained that \u201cthe increment of the army\u2019s FY 2022 budget boosted the operations of the ALF through recruitment of more AFL personnel, promotions of the institution, and renovations of our barracks.\u201d Conclusion The FY 2022 budget reveals that the Ministry of National Defense budget was increased by US$ 4 million and not the AFL. Therefore, MICAT\u2019s claim that \u201cPresident George Weah increased the army\u2019s budget by US$4 million in FY 2022\u201d is misleading. ”The researcher produced this fact-check per the DUBAWA 2023 Kwame KariKari Fellowship in partnership with The Stage Media \u2013 Liberia, to facilitate the ethos of \u201ctruth\u201d in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"hannibal_claim_source":"","hannibal_source_label":"","hannibal_card_color":"blue","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[120,1960],"tags":[],"verdict":[],"ppma_author":[3786],"class_list":["post-14254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-liberia"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R6dE-3HU","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":3786,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"gloria-wleh","display_name":"Gloria Wleh","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-10.png?fit=299%2C362&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14254"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14257,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14254\/revisions\/14257"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14254"},{"taxonomy":"verdict","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/verdict?post=14254"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=14254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}