President Joseph Boakai has acknowledged the public that cleaning the bloated payroll system is the first step to a more efficient, transparent, and accountable civil service.
Speaking at the launched of the Employee Status Regularization Project (ESRP) at the Ministry of Information, Culture Affairs, and Tourism, President Boakai said the launch of the ESRP is a testament of his administration’s commitment to enhancing employment and payroll transparency and accountability.
President Boakai added that the project is a significant step for a leap towards his government’s intentions to create a more productive workforce with improved wages for hardworking civil servants.
He told the public that such a comprehensive employee headcount and physical verification exercise will not only identify and remove ghost names, double dippers, and unqualified individuals from the payroll system but also significantly improve the wages of legitimate civil servants and provide opportunities for qualified professionals to deliver efficient and effective services.
He characterized the project as a major step towards a more productive and efficient civil service, noting that the initiative is a significant stride towards his government realization of its ARREST agenda.
The initiative, according to President Boakai, aligns perfectly with the ARREST Agenda, which seeks to promote transparency and accountability across all sectors.
“The ESRP is a testament to our dedication to these principles, and I am pleased to report that the ESRP has already made significant strides, covering 26 out of the 103 government Spending Entities” President Boakai said.
He was worried, that discrepancies and inefficiencies are not only numbers on a balance sheet but also represent a significant loss to the government, amounting to millions monthly.
However, he said the ESRP, which is designed and implemented by the Civil Service Agency (CSA), was a perfect robust response to said “financial drain.”
President Boakai elucidated that addressing these issues will put his government in the rightful position to not only strengthen and manage the payroll system but also significantly reduce these financial losses, ensuring the government operates with transparency and efficiency, and improving compensations for qualified employees.
“By identifying all legitimate government employees and improving payroll data collection, we aim to minimize waste and abuse of government resources and ensure the effective utilization of public resources,” President Boakai proceeded.
According to the President, the ESRP which promotes a comprehensive clean-up of the civil servants payroll system is not only a response to the current challenges Liberia face but also essential to safeguarding the accuracy and transparency of the government payroll system.
The President pointed out that the Progressive reports revealed huge numbers of ghost names, double dippers, unqualified and inefficient employees, duplicate names, and National Identification Numbers (NIN) on the payroll.
He furthered that the accumulation of ghost names, incomplete Personnel Action Notices (PANs), and outdated information have compromised the integrity of the government payroll system,
He enlightened the public that the scope of the ESRP encompasses all government Spending Entities, focusing on verifying and updating employee records across all 103 Entities.
“I want to personally thank the Civil Service Agency for undertaking this major national reform initiative, which will bring integrity to the national payroll system, save the government millions, and strengthen and improve the workforce” he maintained
President Boakai also unveiled of 97 highly qualified professionals and experts who were recruited through a rigorous vetting process consistent with the National Consultancy Policy Guidelines to contribute to bridging the human resource and institutional capacity gaps and advancing the governance system overall.
“Fellow Liberians, it is vital to inform you that by July 2023, this time last year, the previous administration had already hired about 1,000 so-called consultants, primarily casual laborers” the president revealed.
According to the president, many of the consultants present are legal experts, human resource, management experts, specialized doctors, communicators etc.”
He lauded the leadership of the Civil Service Agency for instituting these consultancy reform measures, ensuring effective utilization of consultancy resources, and delivering value for money.
At the same time, the President expressed conviction that the CSA process will not only remove ghosts and double dippers from the National payroll but will also improve the salaries of Civil servants.
President Boakai then noted that the launch marks a significant milestone in his leadership’s sojourn, terming it as a day of immense pride and progress, attributing it to his government’s ARREST Agenda, which he said, is rooted in transparency and accountability.
Speaking earlier, CSA Director General Josiah Joekai announced that as part of the employee verification exercise, the CSA has identified and removed 687 potential ghost names on government’s payrolls across four spending entities. With this discovery, he noted that a total of US$ 2,600,000 will be saved annually by the national government.
The Status Regularization Project (ESRP) which methodology includes thoroughly auditing the existing payrolls, cross-referencing current employee records, and implementing a robust data collection and management system to prevent future discrepancies also envisions three key deliverables an updated and accurate payroll system free of ghost names, a streamlined process for ongoing payroll data management and verification of a depoliticized, professional workforce which maintains payroll integrity, and an improved and capable workforce.
The goals of the ESRP, according to President Boakai, will be achieved over three months, July to September 2024, with key milestones, including the initial audit and assessment, data verification and updating, system implementation, and training, culminating in a final review and report.
