With an official nomination letter in our possession signed by President Boakai dated August 1, 2024, Verity News can confirm that AfDB Boss in Uganda, Hon. Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, has resigned his international post and is currently in Monrovia to take over as Liberia’s new Minister of Finance and Development.
After ending his assignment with the African Development Bank (AfDB) as Country Manager in Uganda since November 2020, Ngafuan arrived in Monrovia on Sunday, August 18, 2024, and held in-house discussions with Pres. Boakai before he could travel abroad along with his entourage on August 19, 2024.
Before he departed from Uganda, a series of farewell programs were held by the Government of Uganda through its Ministry of Finance and AfDB staff.
Reports, including photos, in our possession show that Liberia’s incoming Finance Minister was given a memorable farewell by high-profile dignitaries including Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Ugandan Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, among others.
Ngafuan is expected to take over from Acting Finance Minister Anthony Myers who was appointed by President Joseph Boakai after Minister proper Boima Kamara resigned in early July 2024 allegedly due to health issues.
In early July 2024, Verity News reported that Hon. Ngafuan was tipped to become Liberia’s next Finance Minister. The nomination letter in our possession has confirmed our previous report.
Amid growing public outcry to turn things around, Ngafuan has a huge task to drive President Boakai’s economic agenda towards sustained macroeconomic stability, growth, development, and fiscal prudence where job creation, increased revenue base, liquated financial sector, FDI inflows, inflation control, wage increment for civil servants, private sector boom, among others are at the frontline of national economic priorities.
The job is not new to Ngafuan because he served as Minister of Finance from August 2008 to February 2012. Some of his accomplishments while serving as Minister of Finance include the initiation and passage of the 2009 Public Financial Management Law, the Internal Audit Agency, the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMIS) intended to automate government processes, the Direct Deposit Account Scheme for civil servants, Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative canceling over 4.6 billion USD in debt, the 60 million USD Ministerial Complex, the 50 million USD Japanese Freeway among others.
With the mixture of financial, economic, and diplomatic experience and qualifications of Mr. Augustine Ngafuan, It is reported by our source that President Boakai hopes that tangible economic results could become the outcome of his appointment of Mr. Ngafuan in the short run.
