MONROVIA, Feb 26 (LINA) - Maryland County Representative Dr. Bhofal Chambers has called on the Plenary of the House of Representatives to place a moratorium on the creation of new public functionaries.
Dr. Chambers said this was necessary due to the inadequacy of funds to effectively maintain existing public institutions, the lack of funds to construct conducive structures and to adequately make available requisite supplies to existing entities.
According to the Liberia News Agency (LINA), Chambers’ call was contained in a communication sent to Plenary through the Office of House Speaker Alex Tyler, and read Tuesday in session.
He cited the situations at the Ministries of Education and Health and Social Welfare regarding the payment of teachers and health workers as a glaring reality that government lacks funds to cater for additional structures.
In the communication, the Representative also stressed the need for the House to proffer the idea of merging or blending public institutions that have similar functions to avoid unnecessary or wasteful spending.
In a related development, Dr. Chambers has written Plenary requesting the appearance of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Walter Gwenigale, to update the House on the status of health workers in the country.
He noted that the resulting crisis from the strike action staged by health workers was not only impeding normal working schedules at various health institutions, but also causing loss of lives and disability of citizens and residents.
He added that as direct representatives of the people, it behooves the lawmakers to swiftly intervene in order to avoid further loss of lives or uncontrolled emergencies in this era of national reconstruction and development.
Following the reading of the communication, the lawmakers unanimously voted in favor of a motion made by Montserrado County Representative Sekou Konneh that it be accepted and turned over to the House Committee on Health and Social Welfare for review, and report to Plenary within an unspecified time.
LINA HVW/TSS/PTK