Members of the Liberian Cabinet have endorsed a new payment scheme that will witness an increase in their salaries more than double their current pays.
Officials say the new move is part of the Civil Service reform and is intended to reduce government's recurrent cost.
Senior ministers here currently earn a gross salary of US$2400, with a net pay of US$1800 after tax. This does not include their per-diems and other allowances and benefits.
Under the new payment scheme which takes effect next January 2014, senior cabinet ministers could now earn US$6,000 monthly, while their deputies and ambassadors earn US$4,500; and assistant ministers, US$3,000.
With this pay rise, all officials would pay directly for their scratch cards, gas slips and vehicle repairs and maintenance.
A statement released by the Ministry of Information said the decision which was reached by Cabinet on Friday is intended to bring to an end the disparities in the disbursements of general allowances.
The projected increase will be tied to the scrupulous implementation of the performance contracts signed between political appointees and the President. The new measure is also expected to bring to an end the practice of the dual payroll system, collapse various benefits such as gas slips and scratch cards into one compensation package for political appointees, and ensure uniformity in general allowances across the public bureaucracy.
The decision follows the presentation of a comprehensive report by the Minister of Finance on the current state of the Liberian economy, and the Director-General of the Civil Service Agency informed about the extent of ongoing reforms in the civil service.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is said to have welcomed the decision, and reminded the Cabinet of the urgent need to lower the recurrent expenditure of the government so as to invest the savings in much-needed Public Sector Investments Projects (PSIPs).
She named the projects, to include roads, ICT, power and ports. Mrs. Sirleaf said these projects when undertaken will have multiplying effects in expanding the economy, lowering the costs of living and doing business in the country, and will provide new opportunities for employment for all Liberians.
The President directed the Cabinet to cooperate with and assist in accelerating ongoing efforts to clean up the payroll of the government, as well as increase the salaries of civil servants and service personnel, including teachers and health workers, whom she referred to as the unsung heroes and heroines of the ongoing transformation of the country.
The directive comes following the inclusion of over two thousand health workers on the government payroll. The health workers were previously paid by a number of international non-governmental organizations.
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