In keeping with their Commitment to carry out a reformed robust oversight, the Senate has discovered that more than 80% percent of allotment for Counties health teams across the country have been disbursed with the exception of few cases where there has been delayed in the disbursement of funds for health teams of those counties.
However, most of these disbursements by the Ministries of Finance and Development Planning, and the Health, were made after the Senate’s discovery of a delay in the disbursement of funds allotted in the 2024 national budget for county health teams and Centers across the Country.
Counties including; Bong and Bomi are amongst the few most affected counties that are yet to receive more than 75% of disbursement from allotment made in the 2024 fiscal year budget for various centers in those counties.
On Tuesday, March 18, 2025 Counties health officers (CHOs) from fourteen (14) of the fifteen (15) counties appeared before a full plenary of the senate to individually provide information relating disbursement of budgetary allotment to their various counties’ health centers. During their appearance, some counties reported a hundred percent (100%) disbursement of allotment by the Ministry of Finance.
The CHOs have also been mandated to do separate reports of their county’s health sectors which according to Pro Tempore karnga Lawrence will inform the Senate in making the necessary decisions going forward. The report will include; infrastructure, Sanitation, mobility of patients (Ambulance), and the impact of the USAID withdrawal from counties that benefited from donor funding programs.
This action by the Senate is in line with its reform oversight approach announced earlier this year by Senate Pro Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence.
The Senate in its fight for accountability, will also demand the Minister of Health to present a copy of the Ministry’s budget performance report for the fiscal 2024 – including a list of drugs imported and distributed to health centers since taking over as Minister.
The Liberian Senate has also requested the Minister of Health to appear along with other relevant health institutions including the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) and the National Drugs Service (NDS) in other to provide information on why health centers are not receiving drugs as per budget support for the fiscal year 2024.
The Senate decision was a result of a concern raised by Gbarpolu County Senator Amara Konneh- who in his assertion to plenary reported that there are complaints across various health centers concerning the delay in payments and medical support.
The Senate approved over seventy million United States dollars in the 2024 fiscal year budget. However, disbursement for this amount has been delayed since allotments were made in 2024.
Comments are closed.