The United States Embassy in Monrovia has commended the National Elections Commission (NEC) for the successful conduct of the runoff of the Montserrado County Senatorial by-elections. But in totality, the Embassy made it clear that there were procedural problems on the day of the runoff which is won by the Congress for Democratic Change.

Apparently satisfied with the at least organized manner in which the runoff was conduct unlike the first round, the Embassy said the NEC and his leadership deserve recognition.

"Some procedural problems remained the day of the run off. However, thanks to the NEC, we witnessed voters participating in a better-organized process," the Embassy said in a statement it issued yesterday, the day the winner of the election was certificated by the NEC.

According to the Embassy which has a major stake in Liberia democratization process, they were heartened to see a dedicated and capable team of poll workers and Liberia National Police officers, many of whom spent the night at their polling sites to ensure that the polls open on time.

At the same time, the US Embassy has saluted the people of Montserrado County for the successful election of a new senator in what it termed "an open and competitive run-off election on November 24, 2009."

The US Embassy reported that it fielded 19 observer teams composed of American and Liberian staff and observed a free and fair electoral process that was absent of fraud. More importantly, the embassy has extended congratulations to Senator-elect Geraldine Doe-Sheriff of the CDC, indicating that the United States supported no contestant in the race.

The embassy which is the eye of the American Government said it is pleased that women and opposition political forces continue to play a strong role in Liberia's democratic process.

"We look forward to working with Senator-elect Doe-Sheriff when she joins the next session of the National Legislature in January 2010," the statement said.

In the same vein, the United States said it is committed to supporting initiatives aimed at improving the NEC's capacity to independently run successful, democratic elections in Liberia ahead of the 2011 general election. Accordingly, it said US$17.5 million of USAID funds currently supports an International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) mission in Liberia aimed at strengthening this democratic process and electoral capacity.

In other news, the U.S. government through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced support to the Ministry of Education (MOE) to conduct a payroll verification study that will update and systematize MOE employee information and ultimately result in correct, timely, and transparent disbursement of salaries to MOE employees.

This exercise will also contribute to the MOE's capacity to plan and monitor human and budgetary resources through the creation of an easily-updated database and identification system for all employees. A Memorandum of Understanding outlining specific procedures of the study was signed on Wednesday, November 25, 2009, by the stakeholders: the Ministry of Education, General Auditing Commission, Civil Service Agency, Ministry of Finance, and witnessed by USAID.

USAID Liberia Teacher Training Program (LTTP) is providing consultants for the technical design and logistical planning, including staff training, and ensuring the validity of data-collection instruments as well as the information and reports produced.

The General Auditing Commission (GAC) in close collaboration with the Civil Service Agency (CSA) is responsible for carrying out the study with some 342 staff members deployed around the country to enumerate MOE employees at each government-sponsored school.

Upon conclusion of the study, the GAC, CSA and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) will work with the MOE to implement a new system to normalize records and establish controls to update and maintain the new system. The MOE will then issue new identification cards for all its employees.

This data collection exercise will run from November 2009 through February 2010. Concurrently, the European Commission Support to Education in Liberia (ECSEL) will support a special task force to reconstruct the payroll databases to secure uniformity in record-keeping and ensure proper management. In March 2010, the MOE, CSA, and MOF will implement the results of the verification exercise and institute the new payroll system and controls using this shared interagency database.

The overhaul of the payroll system is part of USAID Liberia's support through LTTP to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Education. LTTP's goal is to help Liberia build a qualified workforce of educators and teachers. USAID Mission Director Pamela White said "Education is what improves people's lives and so Liberia's future. The capacity of the MOE to efficiently and transparently manage the education system, and the people who work in it, is critical"