The CSA has alleged that its reform efforts are targeted with misinformation to undermine the agency.
By Kruah Thompson
Monrovia, October 3, 2024: Civil Service Agency (CSA) Director General Mr. Josiah Joekai has dismissed claims that the agency is unjustly removing individuals from the government payroll.
He labeled these assertions as misconceptions, misinformation, and a half-truth aimed at undermining the CSA’s ongoing reform efforts.
Joekai issued the rebuttal during a recent signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Liberia Institute for Public Administration and the Governance Commission.
The signing of the MoU was aimed at implementing sustainable reform within the public sector at national and decentralized levels in Liberia.
Director Jokai clarified that their payroll sanitization process targets only those who are illegally on the payroll.
He named them as employees who had abandoned their posts, traveled without proper explanation, or exceeded their leave agreements without communication.
Additionally, he named those who have traveled and overstayed beyond their agreed-upon duration without any explanation and sick leave recipients who have neither communicated with their human resource offices nor administration about the status of their recovery.
He noted that they have not provided any medical certification signed by a recognized practitioner as required by the Standing Orders for the Civil Service.
He also mentioned that some people are on two different payrolls, “the double dippers.”
And individuals who have absolutely nothing to do with the government but are being paid huge salaries via the Mobile Money payment platform.
He argued that one could imagine the number of protests that would have been staged if legitimate government workers were being removed from the payroll.
He emphasized that the CSA adheres to established frameworks and has not dismissed any legitimate government workers as it has been circulating on social media.
“So, you see, the CSA is not witch-hunting anyone. Our work is guided by established frameworks – whether it is the Standing Orders for the Civil Service, the Act creating the Civil Service Agency, the Human Resource Policy Manual as well as Human Resource manuals across spending entities of government.”
“The product of our work will continue to speak for itself, and posterity will be kind to us,” he added.
Meanwhile, he reaffirmed the CSA’s commitment to integrity and fairness in managing the government personnel payroll system.
