Hon. Johnny Tarpah, Acting Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism
Professor Alaric Tokpa, Chairman, Governance Commission
Hon. Nee-Alah T. Varpilah, Director-General, LIPA
Hon. Darlington A. P. Smith, Deputy Director-General / HRMP, CSA
Hon. Dahnu Mianyen., Deputy Director-General / Administration, CSA
Other Esteemed Officials of Government and Special Guests
The Fourth Estate
Fellow Liberians
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

A pleasant welcome to October - the start of the last quarter of the year 2024. We are pleased to report that the Civil Service Agency (CSA) is well on course with critical reform initiatives geared toward lending credibility, professionalism, and productivity in the public service and ensuring the integrity of the Government of Liberia’s (GoL) payroll. I’d like to again recognize the Chairman of the Governance Commission, Professor Alaric Tokpa, and my brother and colleague, Hon. Nee-Alah T. Varpilah, Director-General of the Liberia Institute of Public Administration, and to congratulate us all for the signing of this historic tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

We believe that with the consolidation of our efforts, the stated objectives will be met, and productivity across the government will be tremendously increased. On behalf of the CSA, I want to assure you of our commitment to the terms of the MOU and as Co-Chair of this Arrangement, we will provide the required leadership. Congratulations, once more.

First off, we would like to clear up some misconceptions, misinformation, disinformation as well as half-truths that are being promoted and heralded by individuals who are bent on derailing our ongoing critical reform efforts. The CSA is not going around firing or dismissing people and removing them from the Government’s payroll. That is very untrue. If half of this were even true, one can imagine the number of protests that would be staged had legitimate government workers been removed from the payroll.

To this end, we would like to seize this moment to reassure the Liberian people of our resolve to uphold integrity and fairness in our employee management system. Our payroll sanitization effort has affected people in the following categories only:
Individuals who have abandoned their assignments for periods beyond the statutorily allowed time but still drawing paychecks from our system. Some traveled for prolonged unexplained reasons while others are right here but do not show up to work.
Recipients of study leave who have stayed beyond the agreed-upon duration of their leave agreement without any explanation about pursuing additional or further studies but are still drawing paychecks from our system.
Recipients of sick leave who have neither communicated with their HR or Administration about the status of their recovery nor provided any medical certification signed by a recognized practitioner as required by the Standing Orders for the Civil Service but are still drawing paychecks from our system.
 

There are still even some people who are on two different payrolls - the double dippers. And worst of all, as you will come to find out later during my statement, some individuals have absolutely nothing to do with the government but are being paid huge salaries via the Mobile Money payment platform. The public can be assured that at no time has the CSA removed any names from the GoL payroll outside of the established standards.
 

So you see, the CSA is not witch-hunting anyone. Our work is guided by established frameworks - whether it is the Standing Orders for the Civil Service, the Act creating the Civil Service Agency, the Human Resource Policy Manual as well as Human Resource manuals across spending entities of government. The product of our work will continue to speak for itself and posterity will be kind to us. I am proud of my team and the accomplishments we have achieved so far in the face of adversities and scarce resources. I also would like to thank the thousands of Liberians who continue to repose confidence in what we are doing at the CSA. We will not fail you.
 

I also like to announce that with immediate effect, the freeze on transfer between and within agencies is hereby lifted. Section 3.4.9 of the Standing Orders for the Civil Service is hereby fully restored and HR Directors are required to strictly adhere to the provision thereof. (REPEAT). A circular memorandum to guide the transfer procedures of employees between and within entities will be issued tomorrow.
 

Before we move on to our major talking points today, I want to bring to the attention of heads of Spending Entities that we at the CSA are aware that individuals who are not employees of or work for the government are within proximity to the government and its functionaries. 

This does not only violate very basic principles of institutional probity but also a sheer dereliction of their duties to ensure that only those duly within the employ of the government should access government facilities. We are also aware that some heads of Spending Entities are hiring individuals and using enhancement funds that are meant to support programs and activities at their institutions to pay these individuals outside of established procedures laid out in the relevant hiring policies of the government, particularly the Standing Orders for Civil Service and Human Resource Policy Manual. We are asking them to desist as we will not hesitate to call them out.

Members of the Press,
A few weeks ago, we appeared here to provide progressive updates on current reform initiatives ongoing at the CSA. We made a startling revelation that the mobile money payment platform was being abused by unscrupulous individuals. The platform was initially designed to address the specific challenge of paying employees in remote areas with limited or no access to banking services. However, this vulnerability has been exploited by individuals who manipulate the system to their advantage. While the intent behind the platform was well-intentioned, the lack of proper oversight and control measures has allowed it to become a tool for corruption. The government has a responsibility to safeguard public resources, and closing the platform is the most effective way to address the issue while developing a more secure alternative.

The decision to close the salary payment platform is necessary to protect public funds and ensure accountability in public financial management. Preliminary investigation revealed significant misuse of the platform, with individuals exploiting it to steal money from the government. By allowing these fraudulent activities to continue, public resources are drained, undermining the ability of the government to provide essential services and eroding public trust. The closure of the platform is a critical step toward restoring financial and payroll integrity and preventing future misappropriation of public funds. We have communicated with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) for our both institutions, the CSA and MFDP to jointly carry out an immediate full-scale in-depth investigation into the operations of the Mobile Money Unit at the Ministry.

Individuals were paid from the platform who have zero relationships with the government. In other words, people who do not work for the government were paid government money through the mobile money payroll. There is another batch of individuals whose names on the payroll did not match the names associated with the mobile money number. There is another batch of payees who received payments of up to four times in a single month! We are not making up these stories. We have all the statements of transactions from December 2023 to July 2024. These records were subpoenaed by the Monrovia City Court on request by the CSA through the Ministry of Justice from the two mobile network operators – Lonestar Cell-MTN and Orange Liberia. We are very thankful to the two GSM companies for their support and cooperation to this noteworthy effort.

Predicated upon these findings, the CSA is pleased to announce that the mobile money payroll of the GoL is closed effective October 31, 2024. A circular detailing how legitimate employees on this payroll should transition to the bank payment method was issued by the CSA on September 23, 2024. This circular can be found on our website at www.csa.gov.lr and social media pages.

Members of the Press
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen
On Monday, August 26, 2024, the CSA, in collaboration with the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) commenced a National Pre-Retirement Counselling Workshops and Data Collection exercise for soon-to-be-retired employees of the government. The exercise, which took place across all 15 counties enrolled 1,403 potential retirees. In Montserrado County, the Monrovia Vocational Training Center on Somalia Drive and the VIP Entrance of the Samuel K. Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville were used for these workshops. The workshops lasted until September 13, 2024.

The purpose of the exercise was to ensure that prospective pensioners/retirees phase out of active service with the government and provide them with the necessary tools and information needed to begin the retirement phase of their lives. The CSA and NASSCORP ensured that the exercise effectively covered the pre-retirement, retirement, and post-career counseling for prospective retirees.
For this year’s retirement scheme, we are paying very particular attention to two key Ministries - the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ministry of Education (MoE). These Ministries are highlighted because they are very critical and therefore phasing people out has to be very methodical with a replacement plan in place. As such, the retirement process for employees in the educational sector will be structured as follows:

Closing of the Academic Year: Teacher Retirement will occur at the end of the academic year, as prescribed by the Ministry of Education.
Recruitment: To replace the retired teachers, recruitment efforts will commence 2 months before the retirement dates of individuals who are scheduled to retire.
Notification: Staff in the educational sector will be notified 6 months before their retirement to ensure a smooth transition and adequate planning for replacements.
The retirement process for employees in the health sector will be as follows:
Notification: Health workers will be notified 6 months before their retirement to provide sufficient time for recruitment and training of replacements.
Recruitment: Recruitment efforts to replace the retiring health workers will commence 2 months before the retirement dates of these individuals.

Consequently, for the 2024 Retirement and Pension Scheme, A special dispensation will be implemented given the difficulties in finding suitable replacements in the health and educational sectors. Both health workers and teachers will be given the option to retire at the mandatory age of retirement (65 years), rather than the normal age of retirement (60 years).
This provision aims to alleviate the strain on the two sectors and ensure that experienced personnel can continue contributing to the well-being of society until they reach the mandatory age of retirement (65 years). This just exercise also covered those who were retired from GoL between 2017 and 2023 and are yet to begin to receive their pensions. Eligible Survivors of claimants who died before placement on the pension payroll were also processed.

To implement the required reforms that will digitize the benefit regime for retirees and pensioners, the National Social Security & Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) has agreed with the CSA that the processing of retirees' benefits will be streamlined without the need to complete section 5 of the Benefit Claim Form C-1. This section typically involves providing monthly earnings over the last 10 years for the tenure of employment, which has proven to be complicated and time-consuming.
By omitting this section, NASSCORP aims to alleviate delays in the processing of retirement pensions. This is a huge relief to HRs and potential pensioners. As a direct result, the CSA and NASCORP will seamlessly transition retirees into the national pension payroll by the first two weeks in November and ensure that they all receive their first pension salaries by November 25, 2024.

Fellow Liberians,
The civil service plays a crucial role in ensuring the effective functioning of the government by recruiting qualified individuals to fill various public sector roles. However, a reliable, transparent, and efficient mechanism for testing and evaluating potential candidates is essential to maintain high standards of public service – hence the idea of a National Civil Service Testing Center. The proposed Testing Center will streamline the recruitment process, enhance transparency, and promote meritocracy in the public sector.

The primary objectives of establishing the National Civil Service Testing Center are:
To provide a standardized and fair testing environment for all civil service applicants.
To ensure a transparent, efficient, and merit-based recruitment process.
To improve the quality of civil service recruitment by utilizing modern testing technologies and methodologies.
To reduce administrative burden and costs associated with the traditional testing process.

The establishment of a dedicated National Civil Service Testing Center is a vital step towards ensuring a fair, efficient, and transparent recruitment process for civil service positions. By investing in modern testing facilities and technologies, the government can enhance public confidence in the civil service, improve the quality of its workforce, and promote merit-based recruitment practices. Three large rooms at the CSA are currently being set up with desks, chairs, laptop computers, security cameras and large monitors. The CSA has automated the testing system.

In other words, eligible Liberians desirous of entering the civil service for a testable position will take a computer-based test beginning three weeks from now. This center is expected to be dedicated by His Excellency Jospeh N. Boakai, Sr. President of the Republic of Liberia in October 2024.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
Conducting credential verification for public service employees is essential to maintaining the integrity and professionalism of the civil service. It ensures that all employees possess the necessary qualifications, skills, and expertise to perform their duties effectively. In a time where efficiency, competence, and accountability are critical to government operations, verifying the credentials of public servants ensures that the right individuals are entrusted with responsibilities that directly impact the public. This process reinforces public confidence in the civil service and upholds standards of merit-based employment.

Additionally, credential verification helps to prevent fraudulent qualifications from undermining the system. Unqualified individuals occupying positions for which they are not trained or educated can lead to inefficiencies, poor service delivery, and potential harm in critical sectors such as healthcare, education, and law enforcement. By ensuring that employees’ qualifications are legitimate and relevant to their roles, the government can safeguard the quality of its services and avoid costly mistakes that arise from incompetence or lack of expertise.

Moreover, verifying credentials supports transparency and fairness in public service recruitment and promotion processes. It eliminates favoritism, nepotism, and corruption by providing a standardized method to assess an employee's eligibility for their position. Credential verification ensures that promotions and appointments are based on merit and qualifications, fostering a culture of fairness and professionalism in the public sector, which is crucial for improving overall governance and service delivery.

We are aware of the interests the general public has vested in this verification exercise and can assure you all that your suggestions of an impartial process driven largely by integrity, honesty, and credibility are carried out. Toward this end, the CSA has set up a Special Technical Credential Audit and Verification Team. The CSA is currently engaged with the International Academic Management Association (IAMA) to support our credential audit initiative independently. IAMA's President and CEO, Prof. Dr. Bikash Sharma is expected in Liberia shortly to conclude the measure of support to the CSA. In addition to IAMA's support, the CSA is currently engaged with certified fraud examiners, academics, and document analysts to implement this critical national credential audit. The CSA is mindful that the direct involvement of independent specialists and credible institutions will lend credibility and integrity to the process.

It is said that “he who comes with equity must come with clean hands.” Therefore, the process will start with the CSA auditing or verifying the credentials of its employees before rolling it out to the rest of the GoL spending entities. Audit reports will be published for ease of access.

Major reforms in the civil service are essential for ensuring good governance because they streamline the mechanisms through which public services are delivered. In many cases, the civil service is the backbone of government operations, and inefficiencies or outdated processes can lead to delays, corruption, and suboptimal service delivery. 

By initiating reforms, governments can eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic layers, improving the speed and transparency of decision-making. This, in turn, builds trust between the government and its citizens, strengthening the social contract and making governance more responsive to the needs of the people.

Undertaking major reform initiatives in the public service often comes with significant risks, especially when your intentions are met with doubt or skepticism. Doing the right thing, even when it's clear that change is necessary, can unsettle established norms and challenge vested interests. It’s a path that invites scrutiny, resistance, and sometimes even personal attacks. However, real transformation rarely comes without discomfort. The risk lies not in the act of reform itself but in the misunderstanding of your intentions, as not everyone will see the long-term value immediately. The courage to persist, despite the doubts, is what separates those who simply manage from those who lead.

Pursuing major reform in the public service also exposes you to serious security risks and threats of harassment, as entrenched interests often feel threatened by change. When you challenge the status quo, some will resort to intimidation, personal attacks, and attempts to undermine your efforts. Reform doesn’t just shake systems—it can provoke dangerous opposition. In such moments, the resolve to continue requires not just personal resilience, but also robust measures to ensure your safety and that of your team. We are aware of this and have decided to keep our heads high and be intentional about bringing the change we all desire.

I thank you.