Leaked documents obtained by the Daily Observer have unveiled a questionable series of mass promotions at the Liberia Land Authority (LLA), with current Vice Chairperson for Administration, Nelson Williams, implicated in the process.
All promotion documents, dated September 2, 2024, with immediate effect starting from September 3, 2024, were signed by the Civil Service Agency (CSA) Retired Executive Director Stanley Toe. These promotions, according to the leaked documents, were approved by the outgoing Chairman Atty Adam Monabah, who was appointed by former President George Weah and still has until December 17, 2024, left in his tenure.
Despite the departure of four other Commissioners appointed by Weah, Monabah’s remaining tenure period gives President Joseph Boakai the authority to appoint Nelson Williams as Vice Chairperson for Administration and the Commissioner on Research and Policy.
Williams, one of the two newly confirmed Commissioners by the Senate, received copies of the promotion letters. However, he has not strongly opposed the promotions mentioned in the documents.
Williams attributes the leaked information to disgruntled employees, despite having served at the LLA for just over five months. He refuted claims of promoting and hiring family members, asserting that certain staff members circulating false information are nearing retirement.
“Look, there are employees, some of them are waiting for retirement spreading the false information about me promoting and employing my family members, which is not true,” Williams claims, when he was contacted by this paper through a mobile phone conversation.
Williams emphasized the urgent need for mass promotions and hiring to address understaffing issues at the LLA, though he clarified that as Vice Chairperson, he cannot solely dictate these decisions. With only 300 employees presently, Williams stated that the LLA requires around 1000 employees for optimal functioning.
“We have only 300 employees and for the LLA to function effectively and efficiently it needs about 1000 employees,” Williams claimed, disclosing that he has informed the Ministry of Finance regarding the financial situation at the LLA.
“Even some of our employees are paid less than US$100. And, we have to try to increase their salaries,” he noted.
The LLA Vice Chairperson highlighted informing the Ministry of Finance about the financial challenges faced by the LLA and indicated the need to increase salaries for some employees, some of whom earn less than US$100.
Efforts to contact both Atty. Monabah and Toe were unsuccessful, as their phones went unanswered. A notable consequence of these promotions is President Boakai’s pending appointment of the remaining three Commissioners to complete the five-member Commissioners panel necessary to approve employee promotions as per the LLA’s regulations.
The timing of the promotions coincided with the Civil Service Agency’s notification to the LLA regarding anticipated retirements within the Authority, including Toe.
The CSA’s notification was actually a memorandum dated July 12, 2024 under the title “Retirement of Eligible Employees in Fiscal Year 2024,” for all government spending entities, and signed by Josiah F. Joekai, director general of the Civil Service Agency, partly instructed that: “All employees designated for retirement in 2024 will cease to work as of July 31, 2024.”
It added: “Concerned employees will be allowed to stay at home in August, September and October 2024, but will be paid their salaries. These payments represent a retirement handshake.”
According to the memorandum, retired from the government payroll beginning November 2024 and transitioned into the National Pension payroll at NASSCORP.
Toe defended the promotions as a means to fulfill the Land Authority’s mission of contributing to a prosperous Liberia by providing efficient land governance services that ensure equitable land access, security, proper land use, and environmental protection.
“To contribute to a peaceful stable prosperous Liberia through the effective and efficient delivery of land governance and administration services that ensure equitable access to land security of tenure, proper land use and protection of the environment,” Toe claimed.
Despite this, aggrieved employees have raised ethical concerns against Williams, Monabah, and Toe, suggesting that those who were promoted should face scrutiny and potentially be denied by the CSA.
The following employees were among those recently promoted: – Joshua Toto, Acting Assistant Director for Human Resources, promoted to Assistant Director – Emmanuel Davis, Head of Communication and Outreach, promoted to Assistant Director – Julius B. Kawa, Policy Officer/Analyst, promoted to Director for Land Policy and Planning – Robertson Sirleaf, Acting Deputy Comptroller, promoted to Deputy Comptroller – Augustus M. Zobomobo, Head of County Land Coordination, promoted to Assistant Director – Matu K. Williams, Assistant Asset Management Officer, promoted to Director for Asset Management – Kweshie Tetteh, Public Relations Officer, promoted to Director for Public Relations – Sarah Quirmolue, Head of Information Communication Technology, promoted to Assistant Director for ICT – Folley A. Philips, Assistant Head of Training, promoted to Director of Training – Million N. Brown, Acting Assistant Director for Monitoring and Evaluation, promoted to Assistant Director – Ciafa G. Clarke, Acting Assistant Director for Corporate Service Business Development, promoted to Assistant Director.
