Liberia: Multiple Sources Confirm Ex-Finance Minister Ngafuan Tipped by President Boakai for Government Comeback

If appointed, he will be the second finance minister officially appointed by president Boakai under the new Unity Party government.

Monrovia – Speculations are rife about the possibility of Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan becoming the next Finance Minister of the country, following the resignation of Boima Kamara.

By Edwin G. Genoway, Jr.  –edwin.genoway@frontpageafricaonline.com

Ngafuan served the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf government for 10 unbroken years in various capacities: as director of the bureau of budget, finance minister and foreign minister. 

Ngafuan last served the Ellen’s regime as Foreign Minister before his resignation from government to be an active player in the 2017 presidential and general elections.

His action was in line with Liberia’s Code of Conduct which calls for all appointed officials of government to resign two years to election if interested in contesting.

If appointed, he will be the second finance minister officially appointed by president Boakai under the new Unity Party government to replace Mr. Boima Kamara who resigned his post, citing health reasons.

Sources close to the Executive Mansion hinted FrontPage Africa the high possibility of President Joseph Boakai to nominate the African Development Bank (AfDP) Country Representative Uganda as Liberia’s next Finance Minister.

In an official Executive Mansion release dated Friday, July 12, 2024, President Boakai named Mr. Anthony Myers as Acting minister of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.

Mr. Myers currently serves as the Deputy Minister for Fiscal Affairs but is now acting as Finance Minister following the leadership vacuum created at the Ministry.

According the Executive Mansion, President Boakai has implored Acting Finance Minister Myers, to ensure the stability of the economy and strive to put Liberia on a sustained path of growth, development, and prosperity while at the same time demonstrating integrity, diligence, commitment, professionalism, and loyalty in service to the country.

Many are of the conviction that when appointed as the next Finance Minister, Ngafuan will transform the Ministry due to his experience at the African Development Bank.

Ngafuan’s profile

Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan was born on April 7, 1970 at the Old Maternity Center on Capitol Bye Pass, Monrovia, Liberia. He began his kindergarten education at the A.B. Tolbert Elementary School in Logan Town, Monrovia. 

He acquired his junior high education from Boatswain Junior High School in Jamaica Road, Monrovia and his high school education from the Booker Washington Institute (BWI) where he graduated in 1989 as Valedictorian with a diploma in Accounting. In the same year, Ngafuan earned a Merit Award for Academic Excellence from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for being one of the top 3 students in Liberia who topped the WAEC exams administered nationwide in 1989.

He graduated from the University of Liberia (UL) in February 2000 with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree in Accounting and Economics (summa cum laude). At the University of Liberia, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan was elected President of the University of Liberia Student Union (ULSU) in April 1998, leading nearly 12,000 students of the University until his graduation in February 2000.

In June 2004, Ngafuan earned a Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree in Finance and Accounting from the William E. Simon School of Business of the University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA.

Ngafuan has earned several professional training certificates, notably: a certificate in Central Banking from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in November 2005; certificate in Public Financial Management (PFM) in July 2007 from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA; certificate in Leading Economic Growth in February 2012 from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA; certificate in Executive Presence & Influence: Persuasive Leadership Development in August 2022 from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Professional Life

As an integral requirement for earning a diploma in Accounting from BWI, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan began his professional life at the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) where he did a six-month on the job training in the Accounts Section of LPRC from November 1988 to April 1989.

In April 2000, Ngafuan was among honored graduates of the University of Liberia recruited by the newly established Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) under the Executive Governor Elie Saleeby. He served as Bank Examiner in the Supervision Department of the CBL and was later promoted to Banking Analyst in the Domestic Banking Department.

Upon his return from graduate studies in July 2004, he served for nearly six months as a professional trainee assigned in the office of then CBL Governor Charles Greene. He was later appointed as head of international banking at the CBL, a position he held until his appointment in January 2006 by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as Director General of the erstwhile Bureau of the Budget, becoming the youngest member (35 years old) of President Sirleaf’s first Cabinet.

In August 2008, Ngafuan was appointed Minister of Finance by President Sirleaf, replacing Antoinette M. Sayeh who had transitioned to a top position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  During the second term of President Sirleaf, Ngafuan was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs & Dean of the Cabinet, a position he held until October 2015.

In December 2020, Ngafuan was competitively hired by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to serve as AfDB’s Country Manager for Uganda, managing the Bank’s nearly US$2.2 billion portfolio in the country.

Notable Achievements at the Ministry of Finance

Ngafuan’s professional career is characterized by numerous accomplishments. His tenure at the Ministry of Finance (August 2008- February 2012) witnessed the following notable achievements.

He spearheaded Liberia’s march to the HIPC Completion Point in 2010, triggering the cancellation of nearly US$5billion in external debt, including a 100% debt cancellation by the Paris Club (France, UK, US, Germany, Japan, etc). This remarkable feat restored Liberia’s right to borrow, which had hitherto been suspended because of Liberia’s huge debt burden that stood at more than 700% of GDP. HIPC Completion also allowed Liberia to redirect funds that would have gone to debt service towards essential development projects and services.

Led the mobilization of the nearly US$250 million from the World Bank and other multilateral and bilateral donors that was used to pave the Redlight-Gbarnga -Guinea border road.

Led Liberia’s efforts that mobilized the required funds from the World Bank and other partners for the pavement of the Monrovia-Buchanan Highway. Ngafuan initiated the mobilization of funds for the pavement of the Gbarnga-Mendicorma Highway. After securing a US$12 million debt cancellation from the Kuwaiti Fund in Kuwait City in 2011, Ngafuan secured a US$2 million grant from the Kuwaiti Fund for the feasibility studies for the Gbarnga-Medicorma Highway.

He also secured the commitment of the Kuwaiti Fund to bring on board a consortium of Arab funders including the Saudi Fund and BADEA to mobilize external financing for the road project. Ngafuan led the process that finalized the drafting of the much-touted Public Financial Management (PFM) Law of Liberia and worked with the National Legislature to ensure its passage in 2009. The passage of the PFM Law was subsequently followed by the drafting and adoption of accompanying regulations in 2010 to support the PFM Law.

Supervised the establishment of the Internal Audit Secretariat (IAS) that later became the Internal Audit Agency IAA), ensured the adoption for the first time ever of accounting standards by the government- the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).

He led the introduction of the Direct Deposit Payment system which entailed the payment of salaries of government employees through direct credits to their bank accounts at commercial banks instead of through the issuance of physical checks.

He also spearheaded the process that culminated in the introduction in 2011 of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) to automate government’s budgeting and expenditure processes. His tenure as Minister of Finance was characterized by year-on-year increment in the salaries of civil servants.

Others

Ngafuan would later serve as National Campaign Manager on the Joseph Nyuma Boakai for President 2017 Campaign Team.  

Ngafuan is an award-winning poet. His poem, “The African Teacher”, won the 2nd Prize in the BBC Network Africa 2001 Poetry competition in which African poets on the continents and in the diaspora competed throughout 2001.

Ngafuan is an ardent soccer lover. During his tenure as Minister of Finance, he captained the Ministry’s soccer squad, “The Dollars”, to win two successive championships in the annual Inter-Ministerial Soccer tournament.  He is married and blessed with four children.

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