…As he revealed that the HoR Submitted the Official 2024 Payroll to the Executive in July…
CAPITOL HILL, MONROVIA: As claims and counter allegations continue between the House of Representatives and the Executive branch of the Liberian government, Bong County Electoral District 3 Representative who’s also the House’s Committee Chairman on Rules, Order, and Administration, Josiah Marvin Cole has smartly responded to asserts from the Director General of the Civil Service Agency, Josiah Jokai about the cause of delay in salary disbursement to the Central Administration staff of the House of Representatives.
It is being alleged by the CSA, that the Ministry of Finance Development Planning has identified two payrolls for the House of Representatives Central Administration.
According to the agency, the original payroll of the house has a monthly dollar value of USD 284, 401.05 while the new payroll submitted to the agency by the House of Representatives to alter the original one for approval amounts to USD 327,643. Indicating the addition of many new employees to the central administration of the House of Representatives.
Also, the CSA alleges that as part of ongoing civil service reforms, the agency twice wrote the House of Representatives requesting the conduct of physical verification and headcount of civil servants within its Central Administration; but the request was not accepted.
However, Cole strongly disagreed with this characterization. “Our records show that we have complied fully with all CSA requirements,” Cole insisted. “The decision to withhold our payroll is a retaliatory action that directly affects our staff and disrupts the legislative process. Such measures are both inappropriate and counterproductive to the effective functioning of our government.”
Representative Cole responding to the allegations from the CSA Director General said the claims made are inaccurate and challenged him to provide records to them.
The firing lawmaker furthermore clarified that since the beginning of Speaker Koffa’s administration, the Committee on Rules, Order, and Administration which he chairs has relentlessly worked on the discrepancy of alarming salaries at the House of Representatives.
The Bong County Lawmaker told reporters that despite the huge discrepancy of the payroll, employees from the House’s Central Administration have been receiving pay. However, the Plenary made a decision to hire an independent firm to audit the personnel listing of the HoR.
“When we took over, we accessed the personnel records as our responsibility at this body. At about now, there is no record found to suggest to us that those at Central Administration were civil servants. It was just a mere conversation and it understood, probably a Gentlemen-agreement as you may term it” Rep. Cole said.
Meanwhile, Representative Cole has disclosed that the House of Representatives has completed an internal assignment and last July, submitted to the Executive, the official payroll beginning 2024 for the Central Administration.