The Ministry of Labor has released its first semi-annual financial reports, revealing the collection of over US$ 5 million as fees for alien work permits and other revenue collection activities, deposited into government’s consolidated account.
The US$5,069,536.63 represented various work permit and associated fees covering the period from January to July, 2024, a Labor Ministry Press Released disclosed.
The Ministry Semi-annual reports submitted by Minister Cooper W. Kruah to President Joseph Boakai and dated August 1, 2024, is quoted as informing the President: “This report, however, focuses on the Semi-annual status of the Ministry highlighting the activities including initial problems, challenges and measures that have been taken to address these problem with specific references to personal, logistics, policy issues, labor disputes and financial matters faced by the ministry.”
Minister Kruah is further quoted by the Labor Ministry Press Release as informing President Boakai in the report that the Ministry collected the total aggregate amount within a period of seven months, from January to July, 2024, up against the lower amount collected in the previous year 2023, prior to the ascendancy of the current Unity Party led- Government.
On personnel sustenance, Minister Kruah informed President Boakai that the Labor Ministry has a total of 222 employees, 51-assigned to the 14-leeward counties and 171 at central Monrovia office; noting that the Ministry is under staffed to adequately meet up with the current work load, the release stressed.
The Labor Minister expressed concern over lack of adequate Hearing Officers across the fifteen counties to speedily adjudicate critical labor cases, disclosing the reactivation of the Divisions of Health and Safety, Trafficking-In- Person, Tripartite, and Child Labor, as well as the shifting of key personnel in various divisions to enhance efficiency and effectiveness, all in coordination with the Civil Service Agency (CSA), the release further emphasized.
The Labor Minister, however, decried the acute shortage of budgetary allotment, such as just US$1.2 million for personnel, US$10,000 for goods and services and US$5,000 for cleaning materials.
Meanwhile, Minister Kruah is commending staff and employees of the Ministry, as well as its partner entity, the CETIS group for their tremendous support in achieving the current success story for the Semi-annual period under review, the Labor Minister concluded in the semi-annual reports submitted to President Boakai.
