Former presidential candidate Dr. Clarence K. Moniba is calling on President Joseph N. Boakai to recall the draft national budget of US$1.2 billion and immediately raise the minimum take-home salary of civil servants to US$500.
Speaking on a local radio station in Monrovia, Dr. Moniba argued that the fiscal room to increase civil servants’ salaries already exists, but can only be realized if the President has the courage to reduce the size of government.
He noted that a nation of 5.2 million people does not need to maintain over 104 ministries, agencies, and commissions, a structure he says “suffocates civil servants and burdens the Liberian people.”
Dr. Moniba believes that consolidating government to no more than 50 institutions would allow Liberia to save nearly US$400 million in goods, services, and overhead costs alone.
According to him, these savings could be redirected not only into raising government workers’ pay, but also into training young people, strengthening health facilities, improving schools, and enhancing community security.
Dr. Moniba insists that a responsible restructuring of government would create fiscal stability, improve service delivery, and ensure that national resources finally benefit the ordinary people who need them most.
