Liberia's Finance Minister spared jail term

An attempt by Liberia’s Senate to jail the country’s Finance Minister has been stopped by the Supreme Court “until further notice”.

The Senate voted on Tuesday to jail Amara Konneh who was named African Finance Minister for the Year 2014, by the Banker Magazine(UK) for what they say was acting beyond his powers to cut the budget by $1.2 million.

The move will affect some allowances Senate members enjoy.

The Senate voted unanimously for the finance minister to be jailed.

“ The Senate is angry about Mr. Konneh’s proposal to cut their budget…They will have to cut their budget by about $1.2 million, which will mean they will lose out on things like vehicle allowances, homes allowances, and other things. This is all about their personal perks. It is an abuse of power and a means to try to intimidate him so that they cannot be cut”, James F Kollie Deputy Finance Minister said.

The Liberian government introduced some austerity measures after the economy was devastated by the Ebola crisis.