CDC Only Employed 1,000 Civil Servants … As Tweah Blames Past Gov’t For Bloated Payroll

Contrast to media reports that the ruling establishment is responsible for the increased public wage, the Minister of Finance, Development and Planning (MFDP), Samuel D. Tweah Jr., has begun shifting blames on the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf-led administration for reportedly bloating the payroll, a situation he said this government inherited.Appearing at the Liberian Senate to speak on the harmonization procedures yesterday, Minister Tweah informed that august body that out of the total of number of 72, 350 civil servants, only 1000 employees were added aside from the 2, 000 doctors that were included on the government’s payroll under President George Weah’s leadership.
“25,000 workers were getting allowance through this broken system when President Weah took office. The number today has swelled to 28,000 and so 2,000 of that 28,000 comes from the health workers who were added. Unless you ask me about the number of civil servants employed in this administration; I will say they are about a 1000 persons,” he emphasized.
“The broken civil servant salary arrangement this is what the harmonization is intending to solve. We are saying give the hiring business back to the Civil Servants Agency and let that agency determine who is qualified to be hired,” he indicated.
Minister Tweah told the plenary that in 2009- 2010, the past government undermined the Civil Servant Agency’s policy and designated only responsible agencies to hire their new employees and that the past government reportedly chose to make appointments at the discretion of the ministers and or heads of Agencies, a situation which promoted the swelling of the public wage envelope.
He said in 2009, the Civil Servants Agency, which had been the only entity vested with the authority to vet civil servants, was undermined thereby ascribing said function to ministers and or heads of Agencies who would prefer to hire their relatives, friends and loved ones in government.
“In 2009, some senior government officials started complaining that the Civil Servant Agency did not know the kinds of expertise they want nor the qualifications of the persons they intend to hire therefore the authority to vet who to be employed were left to ministers to carry out the recruitment as well as the hiring,” he maintained.
“That is what I said, this was regulated to some basic salary where people can only receive salary in Liberian dollars while the general allowance scheme was managed by the big boss,” Tweah justified.
Tweah clarified that the report circulating that this government brought 20,000 people on the payroll is what he refers to as broken information and that is unfounded, adding, “President George Weah never hired any 20,000 persons,” Liberia’s fiscal manager told senators on Capitol Hill.
Meanwhile, Minister Tweah is expected to continue providing information at the hearing on the harmonization arrangement today while still under oath.

Contrast to media reports that the ruling establishment is responsible for the increased public wage, the Minister of Finance, Development and Planning (MFDP), Samuel D. Tweah Jr., has begun shifting blames on the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf-led administration for reportedly bloating the payroll, a situation he said this government inherited.Appearing at the Liberian Senate to speak on the harmonization procedures yesterday, Minister Tweah informed that august body that out of the total of number of 72, 350 civil servants, only 1000 employees were added aside from the 2, 000 doctors that were included on the government’s payroll under President George Weah’s leadership.
“25,000 workers were getting allowance through this broken system when President Weah took office. The number today has swelled to 28,000 and so 2,000 of that 28,000 comes from the health workers who were added. Unless you ask me about the number of civil servants employed in this administration; I will say they are about a 1000 persons,” he emphasized.
“The broken civil servant salary arrangement this is what the harmonization is intending to solve. We are saying give the hiring business back to the Civil Servants Agency and let that agency determine who is qualified to be hired,” he indicated.
Minister Tweah told the plenary that in 2009- 2010, the past government undermined the Civil Servant Agency’s policy and designated only responsible agencies to hire their new employees and that the past government reportedly chose to make appointments at the discretion of the ministers and or heads of Agencies, a situation which promoted the swelling of the public wage envelope.
He said in 2009, the Civil Servants Agency, which had been the only entity vested with the authority to vet civil servants, was undermined thereby ascribing said function to ministers and or heads of Agencies who would prefer to hire their relatives, friends and loved ones in government.
“In 2009, some senior government officials started complaining that the Civil Servant Agency did not know the kinds of expertise they want nor the qualifications of the persons they intend to hire therefore the authority to vet who to be employed were left to ministers to carry out the recruitment as well as the hiring,” he maintained.
“That is what I said, this was regulated to some basic salary where people can only receive salary in Liberian dollars while the general allowance scheme was managed by the big boss,” Tweah justified.
Tweah clarified that the report circulating that this government brought 20,000 people on the payroll is what he refers to as broken information and that is unfounded, adding, “President George Weah never hired any 20,000 persons,” Liberia’s fiscal manager told senators on Capitol Hill.
Meanwhile, Minister Tweah is expected to continue providing information at the hearing on the harmonization arrangement today while still under oath.