- The Ministry of Labour has suspended a $50 annual levy on foreign workers just three days after introducing it, following allegations by a labour advocacy group that the funds were being illegally channeled into a private platform rather than the national treasury.
The Liberia Labour and Governance Alliance says the levy, introduced under a March 20 amendment as a "Workforce Development Levy," violates the Public Financial Management Act by directing funds into a system known as LiberiaWorks rather than through the Liberia Revenue Authority. The Ministry denies the allegations but suspended implementation on March 23, before the Alliance had gone public with its concerns.
The suspension
In a March 23 memorandum to Assistant Minister for Alien Registration Raphael N. Donokolo, Labour Minister Cooper W. Kruah Sr. ordered implementation halted "pending the outcome of the engagement with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning."
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The memo stated the suspension was intended "to help keep the current system running, while we negotiate for full implementation for LiberiaWorks."
The decision came three days after Amendment No. 1, issued March 20, formally introduced the levy and directed its proceeds to LiberiaWorks, a labor market platform developed in partnership with Rise Talent Accelerator, to fund the platform's development and sustainability, as well as the Ministry's National Vacation Job Program.
The allegation
Alliance Executive Director George S. Tengbeh, in a statement issued March 30, accused the Ministry of creating what he described as an illegal parallel financial structure, one that strips a core government function from a public institution and hands it to a private entity.
The levy requires employers to pay $50 annually for each foreign worker. Tengbeh said those funds were not routed through the Liberia Revenue Authority, as required by law.
"This raises one fundamental question," he said. "Who authorized the privatization of public revenue in Liberia, and why is the function of the Bureau of Employment stripped from the Ministry and given to a private institution?"
Citing Section 21 of the Public Financial Management Act, Tengbeh noted that the law requires all government revenues to be paid into the Consolidated Fund. He described the routing of funds to LiberiaWorks as the creation of "an unlawful parallel financial system."
He warned the precedent could be far-reaching. "Every ministry could create its own company to collect public funds," he said. "The national budget framework would collapse. Public oversight would be eliminated. Corruption would become institutionalized."
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The Alliance has called for legislative hearings, an independent audit, an investigation by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, and full disclosure of LiberiaWorks' ownership and operational structure.
The Ministry's position
The Ministry has rejected the characterization of LiberiaWorks as a private or unlawful entity, pointing to its official public launch months before the controversy arose.
According to communications obtained by The Liberian Investigator, LiberiaWorks was launched Oct. 7, 2025, at the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in partnership with Rise Talent Accelerator. The launch was led by Sei Philip Pleiwon, director of Rise, and formally opened by Ambassador Ora Richards of the Ministry of State.
At the time, Kruah described LiberiaWorks as a strategic response to labor market challenges, calling it "a system designed with the private sector, for the private sector," aimed at connecting employers with vetted Liberian professionals.
"Finding reliable and prepared talent is one of the most significant challenges to conducting business in Liberia," Kruah said. "Your success is Liberia's success, and our shared challenge demands a shared solution."
