Despite the protracted delay in the passage of the 2012/13 draft national budget, the joint committee of the House of Representatives and the Liberian Senate on Ways, Means and Finance has initiated hearings on the revenue components of the draft budget.
The first phase of the budgetary hearing begins today Wednesday, August 1st in the joint chambers of the Capitol Building, and is expected to bring together officials of the Ministries of Finance, Transport and the Liberia Civil Aviation Authority.
It will be followed by the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA); Liberia Telecommunication Company LIBTELCO); Lonestar Communication Corporation; CELLCOM Communication Corporation; COMUIM Communication Corporation (CCC) and the West Africa Telecommunication Corporation (WATCOC), among others on Thursday.
The National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL); Chevron-Liberia; Africa Petroleum; ELINETO; Putu Mining Company; the Ministry of Lands , Mines and Energy and the National Investment Commission (NIC) are also expected to appear on Friday, August 3, 2012.
On Monday, 6 August, the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC); the National Port Authority (NPA) and the Liberia Maritime Authority will be in attendance. Other relevant stakeholders that are expected to participate in the budget hearing will be released later.
On May 30, 2012 the Executive branch of Government through the Ministry of Finance submitted the draft national budget to the Legislature for fiscal year 2012/2013 in the tune of US$649.72 million for debate and subsequent passage into law.
The government is investing US$15 million on a new hydro plant that will bring an additional 10 Megawatt of power within 18 months as well as additional US$10 million to rehabilitate the Mount Coffee Hydro Power Plant, and invests US$20 million in Transmission and Distribution (T&D) infrastructure in preparation for hydro power.
Also, the draft budget shows that the government is investing US$10 million in the rehabilitation of the Roberts International Airport; and US$11 million in the rehabilitation of various sea ports across the country, including other priority areas.
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