The Liberian Legislature has spent and is spending a staggering US$108,221,842 from Fiscal Year 2024 to 2025, raising growing public eyebrows amid widespread poverty and mass unemployment faced by ordinary citizens.
According to the government financial records, the outturn or expenditure for the 2024 fiscal year alone was US$63,877,136, with a significant portion allocated to the exorbitant salaries and benefits of 103 lawmakers, including payments for vehicles, fuel, entertainment, travels, DSA, constituency visits, legislative hearings, and other operational services.
In 2024, lawmakers’ salaries alone cost taxpayers US$12,378,671, while an additional US$8,533,721 was spent for their personal staff’s salaries. Fuel and lubricants for vehicles in 2024 amounted to US$4,587,995, and US$369,100 for entertainment and gifts.
The 2024 legislative expenditure covers both houses ~ the Senate and House of Representatives ~ and their respective offices. The Office of the Senate Pro Tempore is spent US$1,406,920, while the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives spent US$2,022,425. The Deputy Speaker’s office expended US$1,273,650 in just 12 months.
Beyond these individual offices, the Senate as a body expended US$19,470,322, while the House of Representatives consumed US$39,703,830 in the same 2024 fiscal year.
Looking ahead, the 2025 budget allocates an additional US$44,344,706 solely for the Legislature, maintaining the institution’s high spending levels.
Liberia remains one of the poorest countries in the world with a large portion of its population living below the poverty line. The lavish expenditure on legislative operations has drawn sharp criticism from citizens and civil society groups who have pointed to the stark contrast between government spending and the daily struggles of ordinary Liberians ~ many of whom go to bed hungry and lack access to basic social services including safe drinking water, better healthcare, quality education, electricity, improved sanitation, housing, etc.
As public frustration grows, calls for increased transparency, public accountability, the redistribution of the national wealth, and the reevaluation of national priorities that align with the public interest are becoming more and more compelling.
