MONROVIA — At the height of Unity Party (UP) campaigns in 2023, the standard bearer of the party, Joseph Boakai, enjoyed widespread support on the basis of an abundance of hope that there would be change — in the economy, security-wise, and in other aspects of the country that were ailing fast.
By Selma Lomax, [email protected]
The failures and underwhelming performance of former President George Weah administration weighed heavily on Boakai’s campaign prospects. To remedy his image, UP’s campaign strategists brought Liberians the promise of a “Rescue Mission”.
It’s about eight months into the Boakai administration, and in what looks like a commitment to his pre-election promise of staying on course and building on the “legacies” of the disastrous Weah administration, Boakai’s time in the Executive Mansion looks like a replication of the George Weah playbook.
Playing into Weah’s Playbook of Payroll Paddling?
One of the key issues raised by Unity Party during the height of the 2023 presidential election was that the Weah administration was bloating the paying, employing party faithfuls, family members, and political affiliates.
During her confirmation hearing at the Liberian Senate in February, Deputy Minister of State for Presidential Affairs for Administration, Atty. Cornelia Kruah disclosed that over 730 unrecognized employees had been discovered on a supplementary payroll at the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs.
She disclosed that the supplementary payroll was privately managed by the Ministries of Finance and Development Planning and State for Presidential Affairs under the Weah administration, disclosing that it caused a huge financial burden on the ministry.
Attorney Kruah was blunt that the over 730 unrecognized employees had pushed the total staff to over 1,000.
However, eight months into the UP administration, similar allegations of employing those believed to be pro- Unity Party supporters at the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs are dogging the likes of Kruah, Minister of State without Portfolio, Mamaka Bility, Minister of State Sylvester Grisby, and others.
In a Facebook post Wednesday, Acarous Gray, a stalwart of the opposition Congress of Democratic Change, alleged that a new batch of supplementary workers from February to April of 2024 have been employed at the Ministry of State, following the dismissal of over 500 employees of the Ministry of States who were deemed “pro-CDC supporters”.
Mr. Gray alleged that among the new employees is the daughter of President Joseph Boakai, Randa Boakai. Mr. Gray also claimed that Minister Grisby has reportedly employed his family member, Ivan J. M. Grisby was Aid to the Minister on the supplementary payroll, while many other families of officials were also employed.
The allegations by Mr. Gray are coming at a time the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) is investigating Senator Nathaniel McGill, a former Minister of State for Presidential Affairs under Weah, for a supplementary payroll containing 728 names under his stewardship at the ministry.
The LACC stated that the supplementary payroll, which contained 728 names, was established under McGill’s instructions and was marred by irregularities, amounting to payroll administrative malpractice and corruption.
Kruah, others silent amid allegations
Efforts exerted by FrontPageAfrica to get a response from Attorney Kruah and other Ministry of States for Presidential Affairs staff was unsuccessful.
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