Monrovia – The Commissioner-General of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), Thomas Doe Nah has called on employees of his institution to abandon any possible plans of organizing a “go slow” action, stressing that without the employees the LRA will not be able to collect revenue.
“We’re collecting the money and we are not taking pay on time, you think we are supposed to be marching and doing all kinds of things? Because we are the ones the country is relying on,” LRA boss said.
He also cautioned employees, who are reportedly angry over salary cuts, to rethink the decision because “it is our resilience on which the country will build its power to transform Liberia”.
Mr. Doe-Nah was speaking on Thursday, October 17, at the Ministry of Informational, Cultural Affairs and Tourism regular press briefing.
According to him, information circulating on and off social media that the LRA employees’ salaries are not being paid was done by an individual outside of his institution.
“You know this morning we went into our place, somebody throw something saying things about us not paying our workers on time and everyone started to ask me. So I said if the person was brave they will show themselves,” Commissioner Doe-Nah said.
On Thursday, a notice purportedly published by aggrieved staff of the LRA went viral on social media.
“We’re collecting the money and we are not taking pay on time, you think we are supposed to be marching and doing all kinds of things? Because we are the ones the country is relying on.”
– Thomas Doe-Nah, Director General, LRA
The notice reads: “Dear Colleagues, we write with heavy hearts and dissatisfaction of the fact that our hard-earned salaries that we worked for is being cut on a regular basis. Due to this quietude of our voices as peaceful employees, having great respect for our jobs and position, do not mean that we should continue to allow this situation of pay cut to keep affecting us.
“So, we are asking everyone in the employed of the Liberia Revenue Authority from HQ, Rural areas, Urban areas, Freeport, Liberia Business Registry, Roberts International Airport to join us on Monday, October 21, 2019, to put all pens, papers, cars and computers down as we carry on a ‘Go Slow’ and wait for our concern to be addressed and met by the rightful authority”.
FrontPage Africa has not been able to independently verify the validity of the notice.
However, the LRA boss admitted that the country was in a difficult situation but, at the same time, called on employees of the agency to remain strong for the benefit of all other public institutions in the country.
“We are the soldiers that will have to transform the country; everybody will strike but we have to be standing because, if we fall, everybody will fall,” he said.