The Bong County Council has approved and turned over a US$4.9 million budget to the county administration after identifying more than US$1 million in previously unreported funds omitted from the original draft submitted for approval.
The budget was formally presented over the weekend at the Gbarnga Administrative Building in Gbarnga by the Council Chairman Aaron Sackie-Fenlah to Bong County Finance Officer Silas Tokpa. According to Sackie-Fenlah, the county administration initially submitted a proposed budget of US$3.94 million to the council. However, a detailed review by council members uncovered several revenue sources that were not reflected in the draft document."We observed through our evaluation that US$50,000 from Cavalla Resource was in the county account that was not reflected in the proposed budget given to us," Sackie-Fenlah said, adding, "We also saw that we had another US$50,000 from the national budget given to the county as operational funds and US$950,000 from ArcelorMittal for the construction of a sports park that also did not reflect in the proposed budget. We added these funds to the budget thereby leading to the increment."
The discovery has triggered fresh concerns about transparency and financial accountability within the Bong County administration, particularly over why major allocations already associated with the county were omitted from the initial proposal presented to council members. The controversy deepened after journalists raised questions about more than US$280,000 reportedly included in the approved budget for administrative programs despite a national policy discouraging counties from using development funds for operational expenses. The county finance office confirmed the inclusion of the over US$280,000 administrative allocation in the county budget.
The Ministry of Local Government, headed by Francis Sakila Nyumalin Sr., has consistently emphasized that county administrations should avoid using county development budgets for administrative costs because operational support is already provided through the national budget as part of Liberia's decentralization program. Speaking recently on the government's decentralization and fiscal accountability agenda, Minister Nyumalin said county resources must be managed "in a transparent manner to benefit the citizenry."
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Government policy also provides operational support to counties through national budgetary allocations. Bong County, according to council findings, already received an additional US$50,000 operational allotment from the national government that was initially omitted from the proposed budget.
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When pressed by reporters during the turnover ceremony to justify the inclusion of the US$280,000 administrative expenditure, Finance Officer Tokpa reportedly struggled to defend the allocation but argued that the county administration would only remove the amount if the central government fully disburses the operational support promised to counties.Tokpa maintained that the county administration could face operational challenges if the government delays or fails to release those funds.
The issue has renewed scrutiny over county budget practices across Liberia as the government pushes fiscal decentralization reforms intended to improve transparency, accountability, and local participation in governance. Recent reforms by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and the Ministry of Local Government have focused heavily on strengthening county treasury systems and financial oversight mechanisms.
Under Liberia's Local Government Act, county budgets are expected to follow strict public financial management principles and undergo proper review and approval processes by county councils.The Bong County administration has yet to publicly release a detailed breakdown of the approved US$4.9 million budget, including the specific administrative programs expected to consume the disputed US$280,000 allocation.
