Monrovia – When Nathaniel Patray walks out of the doors of the Central Bank of Liberia in less than 90 days, the retiring governor is expected to get a hefty retirement package. According to multiple sources familiar with the situation, Mr. Patray is seeking a US$500,000 payout. But is he entitled to such an amount.
Report by Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]
President Weah, in his address to the nation Wednesday broke the news which has been in the air for days that the governor was on his way out.
“The Executive Governor is scheduled for age-related mandatory retirement in the next three months. During that period, we will work to transition the bank to a new management,” President Weah said Wednesday.
The President said a new CBL leadership will be recruited by a vetting committee to be established and composed of an independent team of professional Liberians, to be named shortly. “Any qualified Liberian interested in becoming a part of this new leadership team may submit applications to the vetting committee, whether they are resident in Liberia or abroad, and regardless of gender or political affiliation. Meanwhile, I will also announce a new Board of Governors next week.”
Under Section 23 – Vacancies of the Act creating the Central Bank, “If the Executive Governor, the Deputy Governor, or any other Governor dies in office, resigns, or otherwise vacates his office before the expiration of the term for which he was appointed, another person shall be appointed in his place within two weeks for the unexpired period, subject to confirmation by the Senate, from among persons of unimpeachable standing and experience in financial matters.”
However, Mr. Patray was appointed and confirmed to complete the unexpired term of his immediate predecessor, former Governor J. Milton Weeks, prompting some observers to wonder whether the departing governor fits in the mole of a sizeable package.
Said one source Thursday: “There is no way he is entitled to 48-months pay. He is assuming he was appointed for a five-year term. But the CBL Act says in the case of resignation of the Executive Governor prior to his end of term, an appointment will be made to complete the unexpired term. He was appointed to complete the unexpired term of the previous governor which expires in 2021.
While retiring governors and senior officials are entitled to a retirement package, a source familiar with the negotiations, prompted by the premature departure of the governor told FPA Wednesday, the governor is unlikely to get the amount he is seeking due to the dismal state of the economy. “He may get something but I doubt seriously it would come anywhere closed to that,” said the source speaking on condition of anonymity.
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