Former Finance Minister Mr. Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has likened himself to a military reservist, who has been summoned back to get into battle by his commander.
In his opening statement at his confirmation hearing before the Senate’s Committee on Way, Means, and Finance, chaired by Bong County Senator Prince Moye, Ngaf, as he’s affectionately called by his peers, said “My nomination by President Boakai can be likened to a Commander-In-Chief summoning a reservist, an old soldier back to the battlefront.”
Being a former Finance Minister under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Ngaf is no stranger to the Herculean challenges that stand in the way of the economy. “I, therefore, approach this task with the utmost humility and passion and solemnly pledge to men and God that I will use all the fibers of my being in the noble mission of defending our nation’s cause and putting Liberia first, above all else.”
“I know that the challenges ahead are gargantuan and so too are the expectations of the Liberian people and friends of Liberia. I must concede that I don’t come with the magic wand to wave for milk and honey to instantly begin to flow on Broad Street and other parts of our dear country. We will take some quick actions to make things better, but we are also cognizant of the fact that some of the challenges we will confront are complex and multi-faceted and addressing them will be a time-intensive and multi-stakeholder exercise.’
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai recently appointed Minister Ngafuan as the new Minister of Finance and Development Planning. When Ngafuan is confirmed by the Liberian Senate, he will replace Mr. Boima Kamara, who resigned from the post due to ill health back in July 2024.
Pres. Boakai’s decision to bring back Ngafuan to the Finance and Development Planning Ministry is strategic as the former Finance Minister was very instrumental in helping Liberia get its nearly US$5 billion debt waived by the international community.
Probably one of Ngafuan’s tasks will be to tackle Liberia’s rising debt burden again.
Addressing a Ministry of Information press briefing on Tuesday, August 27, Deputy Finance Minister for Economic Management, Mr. Dehpue Zuo, disclosed that the last regime under former President George Weah, borrowed over US$2 billion.
By October 2023, when the Weah administration’s term ended, Liberia’s total public debt had risen to approximately US$2.21 billion. This debt consisted of US$1.26 billion in external debt, which accounted for 56.99% of the total debt stock. Most of this debt was owed to multilateral creditors, with US$1.15 billion owed to institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank. The remaining USD 111.80 million was owed to bilateral creditors, primarily foreign governments. The domestic debt at the end of the Weah administration was US$951.75 million, making up 43.01% of the total debt. The Central Bank of Liberia emerged as the largest domestic creditor, holding US$630.48 million of this debt. Commercial banks held US$192.87 million, while other institutions and contractors accounted for the remaining US$121.50 million.
During the press briefing, Zuo stated that the Boakai-Koung regime inherited a total debt of US$2.6 billion from the Weah-Taylor Administration, stressing that the figures prove that the debts accumulated by the Weah-led Administration in the last six years surpass those inherited from the Sirleaf-Boakai regime over 12 years.
It was during Ngafuan’s tenure at the Finance Ministry from 2008 to 2012, that Liberia became relief of debt burden. But in just 12 years, Liberia’s debt has climbed in billions of dollars. It will be among Ngafuan’s tasks to solve this problem.
He had worked in a number of high financial positions before he was appointed to the post of Finance Minister in August 2008 by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. President Sirleaf reappointed him in 2012 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Now he is returning to the Finance Ministry having been appointed again in August 2024 by President Boakai, who served as Ellen’s Vice President for 12 years.
