Monrovia — An executive of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), Acarous Gray, has raised an alarm over the alleged increment in the public wage bill in the midst of a recent payroll cleaning up exercise carried out by the Civil Service Agency (CSA).
The former representative of Monsterrado County's 8th district observed that the cleaning of government's payroll by the CSA does not commensurate with the increment in the allocated wage bill in the national budget.
He raised the alarm in a statement released on his facebook page in Monrovia on Tuesday, October 2.
"How that the Civil Service Agency (CSA) has implemented reforms and addressed the issue of alleged names on the payroll, there remains lingering financial concerns. With the increase in the wage bill of an additional US$3 million despite these efforts does raise important questions."
He observed that a detailed explanation from the CSA would be necessary to clarify the factors contributing to this increase.
Gray added that possible explanations could include adjustments for inflation, wage increases, hiring of new personnel, or regularization of contract workers.
He maintained that without transparency on these factors, concerns about fiscal mismanagement and pandemic corruption may persist especially when the administration has argued that a payroll clean up could have saved the government millions of United States dollars.
He further observed that the CSA is yet to report on the millions generated from the payroll cleaning up exercise and where those funds were deposited.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Gray claimed that besides the CSA payroll clean up exercise, over 700 Executive Protection Services (EPS) officers and supplementary workers at the Executive Mansion were also dismissed.
He quoted the government as saying that this widespread dismissal across public entities was intended to cut down on the huge wage bill. "It's now ironic that the wage bill has increased and the Executive Mansion remains tight lipped about such national embarrassment."
Gray stated that clarifying these concerns would foster better understanding and accountability, but anything short of a public disclosure of funds generated could further justify the administration quest of witch-hunting perceived opponents that were deliberately made jobless.
"The National Legislature through its constitutional oversight needs to seek inquiries into such failed policy especially when the 2025 National Budget is yet to be acted upon."
