Former Finance Minister, Hon. Samuel D. Tweah Jr., issued a statement today addressing the facts surrounding the domestic and international debt between the ruling CDC party and the previous UP administration, leading up to the year 2023. Tweah unequivocally stated that any information contrary to what he presented is simply propaganda.
According to Tweah, at the end of the CDC regime, the total domestic and external debt amounted to U.S. $2.1 billion. He refuted claims of the CDC alone accumulating $2.6 billion in debt, labeling it a blatant lie. Tweah then proceeded to provide a detailed breakdown of the debt stock, clarifying that the $2.1 billion consisted of approximately $914 million in domestic debt, with the remaining portion attributed to international debt from multilateral institutions.
Regarding the domestic debt, Tweah pointed out that the UP administration left a debt of $266 million on the books by December 2017. However, he alleged that the actual UP debt was concealed, estimating it to be more than $300 million. To align with IMF standards and initiate an IMF-supported program, $300 million of the hidden debt was acknowledged. Additionally, an estimated $100 million was reportedly left at the Central Bank of Liberia for future audits, bringing UP’s domestic debt total to $566 million or $666 million when factoring in the unaudited portion.
Subsequently, Tweah mentioned that under the CDC administration, the domestic debt sum stood at $348 million after deducting the UP’s debt. He encouraged the public to corroborate the information regarding the undisclosed debt with the IMF and emphasized the importance of spreading accurate facts for the sake of a healthy democracy.
The statement concluded with Tweah admonishing against what he characterized as baseless propaganda, specifically mentioning the purported $2.6 billion borrowing figure attributed to the CDC. Tweah clarified that the total domestic and external debt during the specified period did not exceed $2.2 billion, dismissing any misleading narratives circulating as senseless propaganda.
In closing, Samuel D. Tweah Jr. urged for the dissemination of verified facts to uphold transparency and foster democratic principles within the nation.
