Liberia Shifts Government Vendor Payments to 100% USD for Next Three Months

The Government of Liberia has restructured how it pays its bills for the next three months, moving registered vendors from a 60% USD / 40% Liberian-dollar split to full payment in US dollars, according to a circular issued by Comptroller General Elwood T. Nettey on September 11. Civil servants will see a smaller adjustment, moving from 70% to 80% of their pay in USD, with the remainder in Liberian dollars.

The circular describes the changes, which run from September through November 2026, as intended to "stabilize payment operations and ensure continuity in public financial" management within Liberia's dual-currency system, where both the US dollar and the Liberian dollar circulate side by side for different categories of transactions. The Finance Ministry has required registered vendors to verify their USD bank account information as part of the rollout.

The timing coincides with a broader run of positive fiscal headlines for the administration, including domestic revenue collection approaching $1 billion for fiscal 2026 for the first time in the country's history. Whether the two developments are directly linked was not addressed in the circular, which gave no indication of what will happen to the payment split once the three-month window ends in November.

For vendors doing business with the government, full USD payment removes exposure to Liberian-dollar depreciation on invoices, a persistent complaint in a market where local-currency value can erode between the time a contract is signed and when payment actually arrives. Economists watching Liberia's currency management will likely read the shift as a signal of improved dollar liquidity at the Ministry of Finance, though the temporary framing suggests officials are not yet ready to commit to it as a permanent policy.