-Sets Initiatives for Worker Sensitive, Family Friendly Economy
Since the independence of the country, Liberia has never had any experience of middle class even when its GPD was equal to that of Japan in the 1960s and 1970s. The population of the country for long lingered onto the lower and upper classes – meaning that the poor remain the poor while the affluent people remain in the upper class. Notwithstanding this dilemma, a new day of reform from this two-class lifestyle in the country seems to be emerging from the pursuits of reforms being initiated by the Civil service Agency under the leadership of an industrial psychologist, Dr. Josiah F. Joekai leading the empowerment of government workforce, the civil servants.
Just last Thursday, December 4, 2025, the CSA in collaboration with the First Afriland Bank light up the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex Ballroom on the Ground floor when they launched a 50% salary advance and a long-term Loan Scheme for public workers initiatives are instruments that are geared towards stimulating the Liberian economy while bettering the lives of the people. Some economic pundits that attended the grand launch of the schemes opined that the long term loan which is payable in 3-5 years with only 3% interest for anyone applying for loan, could create a middle class that has long been lacking in society.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, astute accountant and politician Richard N. Koon while launching the 50% Salary Advance and Long-Term Loan Scheme called on the government to also change its monthly pay system to a bi-weekly pay system where civil servants should be given half of their salaries.
Speaker Koon said doing so will relieve the Liberian working class of the unnecessary borrowing usually with huge interest rate as the bi-weekly salary payment system will ensure that money is alway in the hands of the people. The speaker who praised the CSA and the First Afriland Bank for the initiatives said all these worker sensitive and family friendly economic goodies, which speak to empowerment of the people, are only possible when a people centered national leadership and a good government is elected in a country.
Before the launch of the schemes, the CSA Director General, Dr. Joekai, mounted the podium and gave a heart-rending overview of the initiatives in which the same 50% salary advance scheme was already signed with ECOBANK which some civil Servants have already started to enjoy.
WELFARE OPPORTUNITIES & EMPOWERMENT
“So welfare opportunity and empowerment for civil servants is paramount; but reform is never enough unless people feel the change, families benefit from it, and workers embrace it.
Last year, therefore, we (CSA) partnered with ECOBANK to launch a 50% Salary Advance Scheme; thousands benefitted to access their salary advance anytime they need it with only 3% interest, the lowerest interest rate so far in the country.
Today distinguished ladies and gentlemen, we (CSA) are expanding that opportunity. It was not only for ECOBANK we launched the Salary Advance initiative last year, I also called on all commercial banks to adopt the product and provide it to all civil servants who have salary deposit accounts with their respective banks.”
Employees who have accounts with First Afriland Bank can now have access to the same life-changing facility; but what makes it more powerful is the fact that the First Afriland Bank has operational branches for implementation throughout the counties, ensuring rural workers enjoy the same access and dignity their colleagues enjoy in Monrovia enjoy.
“And that is why we called the First Afriland Bank the rural Bank uniquely situated for this mission because they are deeply entrenched in the rural area. We are very proud of them,” Dr. Joekai said.
Additionally, for the first time in the history of civil servants, the civil service has access to a long-term loan payable in three to five years, and the CSA have negotiated this to better civil servants’ lives, and the service is immediately ready and available to users enrolled into it. “This is how families grow, this is how the nation grows,” Dr. Joekai said.
He added that the First Afriland Bank will also provide investment advisory which will be optional. “This program will inject millions into the country and stimulate the economy as opposed to taking 25 million USD into the wheelbarrow from person to person as a formula of stimulating the economy,” he noted.
Earlier in starting his overview, Dr. Joekai enumerated achievements of the CSA that precedes the First Afriland Bank initiatives. He said “Today is a powerful day and a powerful moment in the life of the nation. It is a day that speaks to hope, dignity and to the proverb that when the government works for the people, real change is possible.
“We gather here not just to launch financial opportunities, [but] to also honor the men and women who keep Liberia running every single day, and to say with conviction that the government sees you (civil servants), your government values you, and your government is investing in your future.
He recalled that over the past year, the Civil Service Agency has been on a mission to rebuild confidence, to restore fairness and to modernize the public service in a way our country has experienced before and today I stand proudly and say that change is real because salaries are paid on time; not only paid on time but very consistent.
SALARY TOP-UPS FOR CIVIL SERVANTS
He also said no civil servant earns less than $150 (USD). “And I know some people will grasp only the USD component of certain people’s salaries and put it on Facebook and forget the Liberian dollar component; if you see someone making US$125, there is a Liberian Component that takes their salaries to $200 (USD). So today, no civil servant is making less than $150 ensuring that every worker receives a dignified wage; not that it is enough, but at least for a start for over two years of the government.,“ the CSA boss declared.
“Mr Speaker, more than 23,000 employees in the health, agriculture, education and security sectors became major salary topu-ps. And I am specifically addressing you (Mr. Speaker) with respect to this because the Legislature was able to put a cushion in the FY2025 Budget which we were able to use to focus on those four key sectors of our country and our economy. I want to say thank you for that, especially because we are in the budget process right now,” he maintain
VOLUNTEER INTEGRATION ON GOL PAYROLL
The CSA has begun the long overdue integration of dozens of volunteer teachers and healthcare workers into the national payroll system. These are patriotic Liberians that serve for years without benefit and security – those who have never known what is called salary on the payroll, their moment has come and thousands more will be integrated in the first quarter of 2026.
Beyond those we put on from the Ministry of Health, 592, 458 personnel, Mr. Speaker, technicians of the Civil service agency are enrolling 829 volunteer health workers on the payroll as we speak. Beyond the first two batches, we are putting the third batch of 1,306 volunteer teachers on the payroll as we speak.
PRO-WORKER AND PRO FAMILY GOVERNMENT
This government is pro-worker and pro family, and is strategic in that it is not dumping people on the payroll but putting on the payroll people who have been embedded into the culture of education and healthcare for years and have never ripped any benefit, Dr. Joekai said, adding, “It is about time to honor and reward them.”
Because a modern government requires modern tools, the CSA introduced the automated Legal Power of Attorney (LPA). This revolutionary system replaces confusion with clarity, long lines with simple biometric identification of those employees have already enrolled into this modern LPA system, and the CSA is moving swiftly to reach every corner of our nation.
Dr. Joekai said the Current CSA Management team has automated the system and there are employees enrolled biometrically already. “That means those enrolled will not have to collect proforma invoices to move up and down in the sun and the rain to seek CSA approval. Enrollment into the system is not a privileged, it a right,” he added
The CSA also automated the Civil Service Testing System from July 26 and reactivated the complaint and grievances management system to restore dignity to work places. This is done by handling cases transparently and fairly looking into workers’ grievances and complaints. “We reinstated over 70 employees who were wrongfully dismissed, suspended or transferred, and this sends a clear message that justice matters, and that every civil servant matters.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the First Afriland Bank, Mr. Michel Doriand Pedie commited his Bank to the Process, and praised the CSA for the initiative. He admitted to the immediacy of the Loan scheme, saying that some civil servants were already being processed while the program was in place.
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