Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), James Dorbor Jallah, has declared 2026 as "Liberia's Year of the Billion," as the government unveiled a record US$1.211 billion national budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
The announcement came during a special press briefing at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), where Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan and LRA Commissioner Jallah jointly outlined the country's fiscal priorities and economic outlook for 2026.
Commissioner Jallah described the 2026 draft budget as a historic milestone, signaling economic progress and improved revenue performance.
"Liberia's year of the billion is here," Jallah declared. "Even without the US$200 million signature bonus from ArcelorMittal, next year was already earmarked to be our year of the billion. That bonus only added more flavor to our fiscal position."
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The total proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026 stands at US$1.211 billion, including a US$200 million contribution from the ArcelorMittal signature bonus, but Jallah emphasized that domestic projections had already positioned Liberia to exceed the billion-dollar threshold through local revenue mobilization.
"The signature bonus from ArcelorMittal is US$200 million, but even if we subtracted that, the budget would still be around US$1.011 billion," he explained. "So, next year would have been the year of the billion even without that contribution. The ArcelorMittal bonus just makes it grander."
Jallah dismissed recent claims that the LRA underperformed during the 2025 fiscal year, clarifying that the authority had actually exceeded its collection target.
"There has been misinformation on social media about our performance last year -- that is not true," he stated. "We had a target of US$690 million, but we collected nearly US$700 million in domestic revenue -- about US$10 million above target."
He explained that the LRA faced temporary challenges in early 2025 due to delayed implementation of new revenue policies passed during the previous budget cycle.
"Some policy reforms were enacted into law but took effect months later," Jallah noted. "Because of that, we missed out on collections in the first quarter. But as of the end of October, we have averaged US$67 million per month, exceeding the monthly target of US$62 million."
According to Jallah, the LRA has already collected about 78% of the year's revenue target and is fully on course to meet the US$804 million goal for 2025.
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"If you compare our monthly performance -- US$67 million collected versus a target of US$62 million -- the data clearly shows we are on course to meet and possibly exceed our target," he said confidently. "There is no if, and, or but about that."
In an effort to improve accountability and combat misinformation, Jallah announced that the LRA will soon launch a public online portal that will allow citizens and media outlets to track government revenue collections in near real time.
"We've developed a public portal where our collection numbers will be reported as they come in," he said. "Once launched, anyone can go to the website and see daily updates -- as soon as the money hits our reporting system, the figures will change in real time."
He said the innovation would ensure full transparency and public trust in government revenue collection.
"We are inviting the media to join us for the launch," Jallah added. "Once this system is live, there will be no need for speculation -- the numbers will speak for themselves."
The draft National Budget for Fiscal Year 2026, submitted to the Legislature on November 7, will undergo debate and review before final approval. The government hopes to have it passed before the start of the new fiscal year, maintaining continuity as achieved in 2025.
