Speaker Koon Orders Aggressive Probes Into US$1.2B Budget

By Amos Harris 

IPNEWS: In a move that underscores rising public frustration over stalled development and chronic government underperformance, House Speaker Richard Koon has ordered a series of sweeping investigations into how national laws, concession agreements, and the US$1.2 billion national budget are being implemented or neglected.

The directive, issued to several powerful committees at the House of Representatives, comes amid growing concerns that despite Liberia’s ballooning budgets and numerous legislative enactments, ordinary citizens continue to see no meaningful improvement in their lives.

Speaker Koon mandated a full-scale review of existing concession agreements, many of which have become notorious for delivering empty promises while mining towns and rural communities remain trapped in poverty.

Lawmakers are expected to examine whether companies operating in Liberia are meeting their contractual obligations or simply extracting resources with little benefit to the nation.

For years, critics have accused successive governments of signing lopsided agreements that enrich a few political elites while depriving local communities of jobs, schools, clinics, and basic infrastructure.

The Speaker also ordered committees to conduct a comprehensive audit of the Draft National Budget.

He wants a detailed interrogation of projected revenues, spending priorities, and whether the financial allocations align with Liberia’s urgent needs rising poverty, deteriorating roads, collapsing schools, and failing health services.

Despite annual increases in national budgets, Liberians have repeatedly complained that the so-called “national cake” benefits only government officials while civil servants, teachers  and health workers remain underpaid and overburdened.

On the controversial Draft Bill to Ban Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Speaker Koon confirmed that the responsible committee has begun public consultations.
He stressed that nationwide participation is essential to crafting a law that citizens can support and government can enforce.

Speaker Koon’s directive is widely viewed as an attempt to reassert legislative authority at a time when public trust in national institutions is rapidly eroding.

“Liberians must begin to feel the impact of the national cake. 

This is not about officials of government,” the Speaker declared, noting that civil servants deserve salaries that allow them to support their families and send their children to schools of their choice.

Yet critics argue that until lawmakers confront corruption, tighten oversight, and demand accountability from ministries and agencies, Liberia’s multimillion-dollar budgets will continue to vanish without trace.

For now, all eyes are on the Legislature and whether Speaker Koon’s tough talk will translate into real action or become just another political performance in a country desperate for genuine change.