Senate investigation Links Finance Ministry to Budget Alteration the Liberian Senate has endorsed the Special Ad-hoc committee report investigating the alleged 2024 budget alteration with fingers pointed at the Finance and Development Planning Ministry of violating the budget law. The report was recently released by the Ad-hoc Committee and debated on Saturday, September 21, 2024 in opening Plenary by the Liberian Senate. According to the Ad-hoc Committee report header by Grand Cape Mount County Senator, Daba M. Varplah, the admittance of the then Acting Finance and Development Planning Minister, Anthony Myres, of unilateral shifting of the 2024 approved budget between Sectors and Spending entities, which affected Ministries and Agencies as was evidenced by the Matrix constitutes a violation of the budget law. The Committee also reported to the Liberian Senate that after the printing of the budget book there were changes observed in the budget numbers, although according to the reports the budget shifting did not affect the overall envelop of the 2024 budget of Seven hundred and thirty eight million eight hundred and fifty nine thousand, eight hundred and twenty seven dollars (USD 738,859,827). The reports quoted the then acting Minister Myres as saying, after the Ministry discovered that some Agencies were misplaced by sectors, there was a need for what he calls budget re-alignment in the interest of good fiscal management, an action he has since regretted and apologized, noting that, he or the Ministry has no such authority. He made specific reference to the Liberian Water and Sewer Corporation which according to him was misplaced under the Public Administration Sector instead of Energy and Environment Sector. However, the report said some of the internal shifting by the Joint Committee on Ways, Means and Budget before the passage of the budget which encompasses the USD 97,021,00 additional fiscal space included but not limited to the Municipal Government Sector which was increased by USD 7,426,000 bringing it to a new amount of USD 22,934,624. The budget book however recorded USD 35,755,756 with the difference of USD1, 540,756. The Security and rule of law also was added by USD 12,300,000 to bring it up to USD 108,462,679 but the budget book recorded SD 107,512 with a different of USD 950,000. Other internal shifting according to the reports were in the health, the Social development as well as Energy Development Sectors amongst others. Meanwhile, the Ad-hoc committee has advanced series of recommendations aimed at aiding the smooth passage of future draft fiscal budgets. The Committee has recommended that the Ways, Means and Budget Committee must in the future ensure that budget reports and all of the accompanying documents be distributed to each member of the Senate no less than forty eight hours before Plenary debate and passage of the budget. At the same time the committee also recommended that during the budget debate, the Ways, Means, Finance and budget Committee makes a full presentation. The Committee has also recommended that the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning must never make or do budget shifting after the passage of the budget, noting that the Ministry must always revert to the legislature if changes are required. The setting up of an Ad-hoc Committee to investigate the alleged 2024 budget alteration by Senate Pro-Tempore, Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence, was triggered by concerns raised by Senators of Gbarpolu and Margibi Counties, Amara Konneh and Nathaniel F. Mcgill respectively, along with others who wrote the Senate Pro-Tempore alleging that there was an alteration of the 2024 national budget following its passage by the Legislature. Members of the Ad-hoc Committee were Senators Dabah M. Varplah of Grand Cape Mount County as Chairman, Thomas Yaya Nimely of Grand Gedeh County as Co- Chairman. Other members of the Committee are James P. Biney of Maryland County, Cllr. Augustine S. Chea of Sinoe County and Momo T. Cyrus of Lofa.