SENATE MEDIATES WITH MFDP NOT TO REVERSE COUNTIES HEALTH FUNDS
March 24, 2025
Monrovia: The Leadership of the Liberian Senate has made intervention with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning to ensure funds disbursed to County Health teams and facilities are not reverse after March 30th deadline as require by the Public financial management (PFM) law.
The Senate’s intervention comes after a revelation was made by Counties Health Officers who appeared before Senate Plenary recently to explain challenges faced in receiving budgetary allotment in time for the implementation of programs and projects in the counties.
The intervention of the Senate was also informed by reports that the county health officers received budgetary allotment from MFDP for 2024 in March 2025 with a caveat to implement and spend the funds in less than thirty days or the funds will be reversed to the Government for realignment.
Recently, the Counties health officers (CHOs) from fourteen (14) of the fifteen (15) counties appeared before full plenaries to individually provide information relating to disbursement of budgetary allotment to county health centers.
During CHOs appearance, some counties reported a hundred percent (100%) disbursement of allotment by the Ministry of finance. The CHOs have also been mandated to do separate reports of their counties health sectors which according to Pro Tempore Sen. Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence will inform the Senate in taking the necessary decisions going forward.
The report will include infrastructure, Sanitation, mobility of patients (Ambulance) and the impact of the USAID withdrawal from counties that benefited from donor funding program.
The action by the Senate is in line with its reform oversight approach announced earlier this year by Senate Pro Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence. The Senate in its fight for accountability, also demanded the Minister of health to present a copy of the Ministry’s budget performance report for fiscal year 2024 including list of drugs imported and distributed to health centers after taking over as Minister. The Senate decision was a result of a concern raised by Gbarpolu County Senator Amara Konneh- who asserted that there are complaints across various health centers concerning the delay in payments and medical supports.
