Liberia launches probe into civil servants' salaries

Liberia's House of Representatives is investigating whether managers and contractors have been transferred to certain government ministries and agencies as civil servants and continued to receive inflated salaries.

According to representative Moses Acarous Gray, most of the managers, contractors and other professionals transferred to the civil service maintained their salaries, of up to US$3,000 per month in some cases. This is despite the fact that the country's president, George Weah, recently took a 25% pay cut himself.

As a result, Gray is calling on all ministries and agencies to present the House with copies of their payrolls.

The Liberian Observer said that the Legislative Information Services (LIS) department had also called for a National Income Standardisation initiative to be established. In letters to both heads of the Legislature, LIS’s McCarthy Weh said the age-old practice of senior Legislature staff perceiving themselves as being subservient to their counterparts from the Executive with respect to income and benefits should be reviewed.

"As we have instructed a relevant committee to have a pay cut among ourselves, there are consultants and managing directors, who even make more salaries than members of this very House," the letter said. "Also, general allowances of some agencies and ministries are distributed with huge disparities at the will and pleasure of a sitting minister."

Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.

Liberia's House of Representatives is investigating whether managers and contractors have been transferred to certain government ministries and agencies as civil servants and continued to receive inflated salaries.

According to representative Moses Acarous Gray, most of the managers, contractors and other professionals transferred to the civil service maintained their salaries, of up to US$3,000 per month in some cases. This is despite the fact that the country's president, George Weah, recently took a 25% pay cut himself.

As a result, Gray is calling on all ministries and agencies to present the House with copies of their payrolls.

The Liberian Observer said that the Legislative Information Services (LIS) department had also called for a National Income Standardisation initiative to be established. In letters to both heads of the Legislature, LIS’s McCarthy Weh said the age-old practice of senior Legislature staff perceiving themselves as being subservient to their counterparts from the Executive with respect to income and benefits should be reviewed.

"As we have instructed a relevant committee to have a pay cut among ourselves, there are consultants and managing directors, who even make more salaries than members of this very House," the letter said. "Also, general allowances of some agencies and ministries are distributed with huge disparities at the will and pleasure of a sitting minister."

Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.