"Yes, Minister"

I was feeling slightly nervous when the lift arrived at the 7^th floor. To the left was a wooden door with the unmistakeable sign ‘Deputy Minister for Revenue’ on top of it. This is the office in which I will be working for the next two months. I went inside. A couple of friendly faces smiled at me, and before I knew it, I was led through another door. Sitting behind the desk was an authoritative-looking Liberian lady with glasses and twinkly eyes whom I figured to be Deputy Minister Tamba. Within moments of talking with Minister Tamba, she had given me my first big assignment – to help project Liberia’s revenues for the next three years. Slightly overwhelmed and at a loss for words, all I could say was ‘Yes, Minister’.

When President Johnson’s government took office in January 2006, annual revenues were just over $80 million. In two years, the government had more than doubled that figure, with revenues for full-year 2007/08 projected at over $180 million. Given the growth in the economy and the rise in foreign investment, revenues are expected to further increase. It is hoped that by developing a more systematic way of projecting revenues, the Ministry of Finance will be better able to plan their resource allocation to the other ministries which are responsible for implementing key services such as the provision of basic health and education, infrastructure construction and repair, and the development of agricultural activities. It is also expected that the new system of revenues projection would help the Ministry of Finance model the impact of changes in tax policy on the different economic sectors in society. This would then allow the Ministry to devise a fairer and more efficient system of taxation.

I walked out of Deputy Minister Tamba’s office, took a deep breath, and set about gathering information for my task ahead. Something tells me my stay in Liberia will be a busy and interesting one.

Below: Billboards in Monrovia aiming to raise awareness of the importance of revenue collection