Rooted in withheld payments contributing to Liberia’s 2013/2014 budget, finance minister Amara Konneh says numbers aren’t evening out — and the budget is already short of $17 million. According to The New Dawn, Konneh presented his findings this week before the House of Representatives in Monrovia.

Though the budget has drawn in revenues of $200 million since being passed seven months ago, the national budget has experienced a delay of $68 million, the report said.

“As the result of the delays in these revenues generation encountered by the Finance Ministry revenue department, the government has experienced a drastic drop in revenues in its coffers, and that the government is under pressure to meet its demands as requested by the budget; and the national budget is a law that he and his team cannot afford to violate,” Konneh said.

According to him, organizations including the National Port Authority (NPA) and the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) have yet to fulfill financial obligations totaling $1 million and $3 million, respectively.

Still, Konneh noted that a boost from the mining sector encouraged 2013’s 8.1 percent real GDP growth — a step up from 7.5 percent in 2012.

“The country faces further challenges due to its susceptibility to external factors; Liberia’s undiversified economy depends heavily on exports such as iron ore, rubber and timber, which are reliant on fluctuating international prices and demands. The major staple food- rice is imported, increasing vulnerability to external prices,” Konneh added.

The New Dawn also  reported that $15.9 million of the budget was spent on goods and services while $22.6 million has been used up paying government salaries. With an availability of over $500 million, the national budget calls for a boost of $2 billion to edge toward recovery.