By Amos Harris
Monrovia, Liberia — Civil Service Agency (CSA) Director-General Josiah F. Joekai has ignited a firestorm of public criticism after unequivocally claiming that “there is no civil servant on the payroll in Liberia making less than US$150.” The assertion, made during a press briefing at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) on Thursday, was intended to hail a “reformed and standardized salary structure” that, according to Joekai, has eliminated “ghost names” and promoted fairness in government employment.
However, his declaration has been met with sharp criticism and disbelief from the very public workers, civil society advocates, and policy analysts it aimed to reassure, who argue the statement is a “distortion of reality” not supported by facts on the ground.
Across key sectors, especially education and health, employees are directly challenging the CSA boss’s figure. Teachers, janitors, and rural healthcare workers interviewed by this paper report their monthly take-home pay remains firmly between US$90 and US$100, supplemented by meager allowances of only 5,000 to 6,000 Liberian dollars. This puts their total compensation significantly below the Director-General’s US$150 threshold.
“We are tired of hearing false claims about salary harmonization,” lamented one junior employee at a government ministry, who requested anonymity. “Every month, our pay slips tell a different story from what is being said at press conferences.” Sources within MICAT, the very venue of the press briefing, confirmed the discontent, describing the ministry as “one of the least-paid institutions in government,” with some staff earning well below the figure cited by Joekai.
The controversy has propelled civil society organizations to join the debate, urgently calling on the CSA to publish comprehensive payroll records to substantiate the Director-General’s claim. They argue that without complete transparency, such pronouncements will only widen the credibility gap between the government and its workforce.
Labor and policy analysts concur, pointing to glaring salary disparities that still persist across government institutions. According to one observer, standardization has not been achieved: “Some civil servants in certain ministries make US$300, while others in the same grade receive barely US$100. This is not fairness—it’s systemic inequality.” Employees with similar qualifications and job descriptions continue to earn vastly different salaries depending on their ministry or agency.
The widely disputed claim poses a significant risk of eroding public confidence in the Boakai administration’s core promises of transparency and fairness. Political commentators are quick to draw parallels to the recent past. “Salary injustice was one of the main reasons Liberians turned against the former administration,” one remarked. “President Joseph Nyuma Boakai must not repeat that mistake.”
Despite the intense skepticism, Mr. Joekai remains steadfast, insisting that the CSA’s ongoing biometric payroll verification system will soon correct any inconsistencies and ensure every civil servant receives their rightful pay.
However, as skepticism deepens and demands for factual evidence grow louder, the controversy surrounding Joekai’s assertion has quickly escalated into a major credibility test for the new government. It highlights the urgent need for tangible proof to align official statements with the financial reality faced by Liberia’s public servants.