Claim: Liberia’s Finance Minister claims that debt service was not more than $10 million before he left office in 2012.
Verdict: False! A review of several government documents and publications from international organisations shows that debt service exceeded $10 million in 2012.
Full Text
Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, the Minister of Finance, claimed that during his previous tenure as Finance Minister under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, debt service in the budget was not more than US$ 10 million.
He made the claim while discussing the current debt challenges facing the government, drawing comparisons between when he last served as finance minister from 2008 to 2012 and now. He made the comment at the 8:14 timestamp of the 2:01:16 video of the first Government Town Hall meeting held at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Monrovia on May 7, 2025.
The Ministry of Information, Culture, Affairs, and Tourism organised the programme to communicate government policies through town hall engagements with government officials and citizens.
Mr Augustine Ngafuan was appointed Minister of Finance in 2008 by then-President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. He held the position until 2012, when he was transferred to Foreign Affairs as Minister and Dean of the Cabinet.
Verification
DUBAWA reviewed multiple publications from international development partners and official government releases. We checked information regarding Liberia’s debt waiver and servicing before Mr Ngafuan departed from the Finance Ministry in 2012.
On June 29, 2010, the IMF and World Bank confirmed that both institutions had approved US$4.6 billion in debt relief for Liberia.
On debt servicing in the budget, page 19 of the Annual Fiscal Outturn for budget year 2010/2011 shows that a US$13.3 million appropriation was approved in the 2010/2011 budget. However, a commitment of US$12.8 million was made, while the government disbursed US$12.6 million in cash on servicing domestic and foreign debts.
Also, the 2011/2012 approved budget, which was the last budget of Mr. Ngafuan’s first tenure as minister, included US$12 million in debt servicing for that year.
Conclusion
Based on this research and available evidence, Minister Augustine Ngafuan’s claim that before he left as Finance Minister under President Sirleaf, Liberia’s debt service in the budget was not more than US$10 million yearly is false.
Evidence from the 2010/2011 Fiscal Outturn report and the 2011/2012 approved budget shows that debt service was more than US$10 million during these periods.