In Summary:
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Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of Health, Martha Morris claims the 2024 National budget was inherited by the current administration
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We checked Madam Morris’ claim by reviewing the budget and online publications by the Ministry of Finance and other credible media outlets
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We found that her claim to be misleading.
On December 13, Mme. Martha Morris, Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of Health, claimed that the 2024 National Budget was inherited by the Unity Party (UP)–led government, adding that the budget was prepared under former President Weah’s administration.
Madam Morris made the statement while discussing her agenda for the health sector and highlighting the challenges the health sector has faced since assuming office.
She spoke during an engagement with medical practitioners following a joint petition presented to the Ministry of Health in Gbarnga, Bong County.
The Claim
Madam Morris’ exact statement: “Last year, the budget we operated with was an inherited budget… so, we ran the 2024 operation based on a budget that was prepared by the previous government.”
Rating Justification
To verify whether the 2024 National Budget was inherited by the Unity Party government, we conducted an online search and found a Friday, December 22, 2023, press release from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP).
The release states that the MFDP submitted the Fiscal Year 2024 Draft National Budget, totaling US$625.57 million, to the Legislature through then-House Speaker Dr. Bhofal Chambers.
Our search found no evidence that this draft budget was passed by the Legislature following its submission in December 2023.
Further findings show that on Monday, March 18, 2024, after the Boakai administration had taken office, the Ministry of Finance submitted a revised draft FY2024 National Budget of US$692.2 million to the 55th National Legislature. The revised budget was received by Deputy House Speaker Thomas Fallah.
After legislative review, the Senate concurred with the House of Representatives and passed the budget at a final amount of US$738,859,827.
The final copy of the budget published by the MFDP also carries the signatures of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung, and former Speaker of the House of Representative Cllr J. Fonati Koffi, amongst others.
Conclusion
Based on these findings, the claim by Deputy Health Minister Morris that the 2024 National Budget was inherited by the Unity Party government from the past administration is misleading.
While the budget was passed and signed into law under the Boakai-led Unity Party administration, the FY2024 draft budget was prepared and first submitted under the Weah administration in December 2023.
Due to time constraints, it was not passed before the change of government and was later reviewed, revised, and approved in 2024 by the Boakai administration.
