By Bill W. Cooper
&
Laurina B, Lormia
Several aggrieved employees of the National Elections Commission (NEC) yesterday staged a protest in demand of their six months hazardous allowances and improved insurance benefits, among others.
The workers, during their protest on November 5, 2024, expressed frustration over their working conditions, particularly in light of the challenges faced during recent electoral processes.
Gathered outside of the NEC headquarters, the employees through their spokesperson, Rennie B. Gleegbar narrated that they as the general staff of the NEC on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, met to discuss matters relating to their welfare in a bid to ensure that employees of the NEC receive their just benefits as contained in the 2023 Elections budget as well as to consider general conditions currently at the Commission.
He disclosed that in said meeting, the general workforce deliberated among other things, the pressing issues of their hazard allowance as well as insurance benefits, with a call for an immediate action from the government.
According to him, considering the need to dialogue with the appropriate authority of the Commission, they decided to set up a committee headed by him (Rennie B. Gleegbar) to engage the Board of Commissioners (BOC) and request it to do the needful in keeping with law in addressing the concerns raised by the workforce.
Gleegbar maintained, “The NEC as an independent commission established by the Constitution of Liberia and guided by the 1986 New Elections Law which empowers the BOC in Section 2.4 under the caption “Quorum and vote” requires that any issue or question before the Commission can be decided as stipulated therein.”
“The 2023 elections were credibly and peacefully conducted with the efforts and sacrifices of both the BOC and the general workforce and with the declaration of remaining amount in the tone of US$ 8 million. In the general meeting of October 24, 2024 presided over by the BOC, it was marred by claims and counter claims at which time the Chairperson of the Commission acknowledged the fact that due to inactiveness of other members of the BOC, she singularly undertook the task of budget transfer of the declared remaining amount and submitted same to the Ministry of Finance without the expressed approval of the BOC in line with Section 2.4,” he revealed.
Gleegbar further indicated, “The Chairperson also suggested in said meeting that since the Minister of Finance promised to send a team to work with the Commission in deciding items to constitute the budget transfer, she would similarly constitute a team comprising commissioners and technicians to work with the team from the Ministry.”
“Therefore, we, the Workforce have resolved that the Chairperson of the Board of Commissioners immediately and formally constitute a committee as indicated by her to determine items, especially the staff six months hazard allowance and Insurance Benefits to constitute the budget transfer of the declared remaining amount.”
Gleegbar added, “The NEC team should ensure the inclusion in the Budget Transfer Proposal some reasonable amount for administrative cost to address the current issue of fuel, unsanitary conditions at headquarters and magisterial offices, repair/servicing of staff bus and assigned vehicles.”
Meanwhile, the NEC chairperson, Davidetta Brown Lansana, clarified circumstances regarding unpaid benefits and insurance policy for NEC staff from the just ended elections.
Speaking on OK FM’s Morning Rush on Monday, November 4, Davidetta Brown Lansana disclosed that, staff received six general allowances related to the election period and that the first, allowance payment was made during the voter registration phase, while the remaining five payments were issued throughout the election process with the exception of the insurance policy.
According to her, NEC has revised its proposed election budget to US$91 million.
However, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) informed NEC that only $53 million dollars would be available to conduct the election.
She mentioned that, within the $91 million budget, they had set aside eight to twelve months of general allowances for staff adding that, the MFDP instructed them to recalibrate and restructure some of the allowances in the budget.
“It is a normal process for any institution, not just the NEC. When you make a proposal and it undergoes negotiation, you often need to go back to the drawing board, to reallocate and reduce some of the funding while focusing on the most important aspects. That was precisely what I did to ensure the election could be held,” Lansana emphasized.
“We did not take out an insurance policy due to the way we were receiving funds from the government. Even up to October 6, we were still receiving checks from the Ministry of Finance, and we had to wait for those checks to be processed before the money was available in our account, which has been our major problem,” she explained.
She stated that, after the conclusion of the election and due to the government’s funding challenges, in December she was informed by the finance section of the NEC that they had remaining balances in LRD and USD currencies amounting to US$8 million that came after the election.
“Dealing with the public is often safer than what any administrator experiences within their institutions, adding that, the most challenging aspect of being the chairperson of the NEC is effectively managing your responsibilities, maintaining control, and planning diligently,” Lansana asserted.
She voiced that she visited the radio station to do some clarifying on some happenings at the NEC. She asserted that she is not a scary person, declaring, “Liberians are good people.” She highlighted that whenever there are a few bad apples, it is the same Liberian people who come forward to expose them.
