Monrovia – As many countries around the world strive to improve the livelihood of Civil Servants, the two honorees of this year African Public Service Day Roland D. Kallon and John T. Davies expressed the many constraints they are faced with in discharging their duty.
Report by J.H. Webster Clayeh – [email protected]
Even with some reforms being put into place from the beginning of this Unity Party-led government, the matter of threat from the public and low incentive and wages are still hampering the over 40000 persons in the public sector.
Explaining his ordeal Davies, who happens to be the Chief of Private Security at the Ministry of Justice said despite being nominated as one of the honorees what he takes home as monthly salary is very low for the kind of work he does.
“It is not easy but we have to try”, Davies told his follows colleagues at his honoring event at the Paynesville City Hall over the weekend.
“All of the money that government is raising it will shock you to know that the chief of private security is making less than hundred dollars and still we generating 40000 to 60000 in government’s coffers.
For Kallon, the Deputy Director of Human Resource Management Information Systems at the Civil Service Agency; having a passion for the things you do is necessary for the area of the public sector because for him you do not know who is watching.
“My story with Civil Servants started when we noticed a serious hike in the salary of teachers on the supplementary payroll.”
“I have a duty to do the right thing and to stop those who want to have salary illegally increased.”
According to Kallon, after he was announced as an honoree, someone called and congratulated him, and at the same time told him that he was in a bittersweet situation by taking the spoon from another person’s mouth.
He re-echoed what the person told him: “One, you did the right thing but two, you may be the subject of the public notion and maybe somebody may try to get back at you.”
“I said to the person that, everything I did, I did it with my conscious and I have no regret if you give me that same situation I will do that exact thing.”
Serving as the keynote speaker, the former speaker of the Liberians Children Parliament Satta Sheriff advised that the day be used to reflect on the situation of civil servants.
“For too long civil servants have suffered”, she said.
“We must recognize the power of civil servants and their many meaningful contributions to society”.
Sheriff said in order for the young people to inherit a better future the current situation and plans for Civil Service need to be changed.
“You must show the difference, get ready for change now. A positive change that will affect every civil servant in this country, from payroll to housing facilities, to educational opportunities, to better health care, and to a smart pension after retirement,” she said.