The Ministry of Internal Affairs has announced the immediate suspension of new transfer and disbursement requests affecting the County Development Fund and County Social Development Fund.

The Ministry says the decision is based on the need to undertake an assessment and review of all accounts of the two funds and the programs and activities they support throughout the country.

In a press release issued in Monrovia today, the Ministry emphasized that the suspension will not affect funds already transferred from the Ministry of Finance to accounts of counties accounts for ongoing projects and programs.

The Ministry underscored that the review is necessary because county councils are being held under the new fiscal budget, and there was therefore the need to align new projects with the County Development Agenda which is consistent with provisions of the Agenda for Transformation (AFT).

The Ministry has further assured that it will shortly begin to consult with sector agencies, legislative Caucuses, and concessions contributing to the Social Development Fund, adding that the suspension is only temporary.

In a related development, the Ministry has also announced that it will shortly embark on a comprehensive review of scholarships offered by county administrations and funded from Social Development Fund in order to ensure that scholarships are aligned with the Agenda for Transformation and targeted to meet the human capital development needs of counties and the country.

The Ministry says the good intention and benefits of the county scholarship program has overwhelmed county administrations, Legislative Caucuses, and unless it is reformed, the scholarship program could be counterproductive.

The Ministry says that when the inter-agency review of scholarship programs are complete, annual total scholarship allocations from counties will not exceed 10% of each county’s gross annual Social Development contributions.

 Signed:

              D. Emmanuel Wheinyue

              Media Consultant

              0886222510