The Government of Liberia has admitted that despite years of efforts to decentralize political and financial authority from Monrovia to the country's 15 counties, much of the fiscal decentralization framework remains largely unimplemented.
Deputy Finance Minister for Fiscal Affairs Anthony G. Myers acknowledged that limited progress has been made in translating the legal and policy provisions of fiscal decentralization into tangible outcomes, even though the government has established a number of institutions and mechanisms intended to support the process.
"As far as achievements and outcomes go, not much have been delivered on any of these fiscal decentralization provisions of the law," Myers said.
He made the admission on Thursday, September 10, during a fiscal decentralization training workshop for journalists in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.
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Myers, however, said the government has established the basic legal, policy and administrative framework required to move the process forward, including the Local Government Act of 2018, the Revenue Sharing Law of 2022, County Development Agendas, county councils and county treasuries.
He said the challenge now is to translate these frameworks into functional systems that give counties greater authority over resources and enable them to deliver services closer to citizens.
"For the purpose of this workshop, the emphasis is on the fourth pillar, which forms the essential ingredient for any successful decentralization policy because power without financial authority is just centralization in disguise," Myers said.
Liberia's decentralization policy is based on four pillars: devolution of power, local autonomy, institutional alignment and financial decentralization.
According to Myers, financial decentralization is particularly important because political and administrative responsibilities transferred to local governments must be accompanied by the resources necessary to execute them.
The Local Government Act of 2018 provides for the devolution of local government, primary service delivery and development planning responsibilities to counties, districts and cities.
The Revenue Sharing Law, passed in 2022, provides the legal basis for local governments to benefit from specified revenue streams, including own-source revenues, transfers from central government, social development funds and grants from development partners.
However, Myers said the implementation of the Revenue Sharing Law remains incomplete.
He disclosed that regulations governing the law have been drafted and reviewed by a technical working group but are still awaiting validation.
The government has also established county councils in all 15 counties, with responsibility for approving local financial plans, county budgets, development plans and ordinances for local taxes.
Despite these developments, Myers said the fiscal decentralization process still faces significant implementation gaps.
One of the mechanisms being used to address the challenge is the establishment of county treasuries designed to bring aspects of public financial management closer to local authorities and reduce the cost and delays associated with processing payments through Monrovia.
Myers said the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning established four county treasuries in 2016 in Grand Bassa, Margibi, Bong and Nimba counties.
The treasuries are staffed by budget and finance officers and currently prepare monthly and quarterly allotments and disbursements for county administrations and county health systems.
He said the government expects that, by the end of Fiscal Year 2027, there will be 10 functional county treasuries serving all 15 counties and processing local payments for at least 10 spending entities.
The government is also working to strengthen local revenue mobilization.
Myers cited real property mapping initially undertaken by the Liberia Revenue Authority in Margibi County in 2020/2021 as an effort to expand the property tax base through cooperation between national and local authorities.
The exercise has since been extended to Grand Bassa County, with plans for Bong and Nimba counties.
He said the initiative is intended to help counties generate resources while establishing mechanisms for sharing revenues between local and central government.
Myers also pointed to the Local Government Fiscal Board, which he said is in the final stages of activation and will monitor and report on the fiscal positions of local government structures with financial autonomy.
He acknowledged that decentralization is not simply a matter of passing laws, but requires institutions, financial systems, trained personnel and accountability mechanisms to make the policy effective.
The Local Government Act contains a number of public financial management safeguards requiring local governments to comply with the Public Financial Management Act, prepare financial reports, undergo audits and follow national procurement laws and regulations.
Against this backdrop, Myers urged journalists to play a greater role in monitoring the implementation of fiscal decentralization and identifying gaps that may otherwise go unnoticed by policymakers.
"There is always a gap in every legal and regulatory framework that might not be obvious to the central actors," he said.
"Journalists and their respective audiences could identify areas where there are shortcomings and thereby lead to amendments of legal framework, adjustments in implementation mechanisms, etc."
He said journalists should monitor county budgets, public spending, procurement and development projects while informing citizens about how public resources are allocated and used.
Myers said the media must also educate citizens about decentralization policies and laws while reporting concerns from communities to government authorities.
He linked the need for stronger media involvement to Liberia's long history of centralization, arguing that excessive concentration of institutions and information in Monrovia has contributed to disparities between urban and rural Liberia.
"For over 170 years--or 200 years, if we went back to 1822--everything about our national institutions has been concentrated in Monrovia," he said.
Myers said the concentration has contributed to what he described as "two parallel Liberias," with one population having relatively broad access to information about government, politics and economic developments while another remains largely uninformed about decisions that affect their lives.
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He said decentralization is intended to reduce that imbalance by bringing decision-making, resources and public services closer to communities.
The current County Development Agendas are intended to complement the national ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development by allowing each county to identify and pursue its own development priorities.
Myers said the launch of the second series of County Development Agendas in January 2025 placed greater responsibility for development planning in the hands of local communities.
He said strengthening fiscal decentralization must now go hand in hand with strengthening the capacity of journalists and citizens to understand and monitor the process.
The Deputy Finance Minister described government and civil society, including the media, as partners in national development.
He said the government operates on the supply side by developing laws, policies, regulations and public services, while the media helps strengthen the demand side by conveying citizens' concerns and expectations to the government.
"This workshop was conceived with one guiding principle: that government and civil society are partners in service delivery to the people of Liberia," Myers said.
He urged journalists participating in the workshop to use the knowledge gained to increase reporting on county finances, development programs, procurement and service delivery and to bring implementation failures to the attention of policymakers.
"In this regard, I urge all participants at this workshop to work together as partners in the service of our people," Myers concluded.
