Senate Committee Chair on Ways, Means, Finance and Budget, Prince Kermue Moye, has defended the decision to maintain existing civil servants’ salary levels despite the passage of the largest national budget in history.
Moye said payroll reform and fairness took precedence over immediate wage increases.
The Fiscal Year 2026 National Budget, totaling US$1.25 billion, recently received legislative approval, marking the first time the country’s spending plan has crossed the one-billion-dollar threshold.
However, the absence of a general salary increments for civil servants, sparked public debate and criticism from some quarters.
While speaking on Cape FM 96.5 in Paynesville, outside Monrovia recently, Sen. Moye said, lawmakers “deliberately rejected a blanket salary increase” to enforce the National Standardization and Remuneration Act of 2019. He said, the priority was to harmonize salaries across government institutions and address longstanding payroll imbalances.
Sen. Moye: “Thousands of volunteers, who have served for years without pay among them teachers, doctors, nurses, health workers, and personnel of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency, and other security institutions, including the Liberia National Police, were captured and placed on the payroll under the FY 2026 budget.”
“The discussion on civil servants’ salaries consumed nearly half of the budget process. This government believes that before salaries can be increased, everyone must first be brought on par.”
He confirmed how significant disparities exist among officials performing similar functions across ministries, agencies, and branches of government, warning that across-the-board increments would only deepen inequality by disproportionately benefiting those already earning higher wages.
“If you increase salaries without standardization, those at the top benefit the most, while people earning very little or volunteering gain almost nothing.”
Sen. Moye also pointed to “uncontrollable payrolls” inherited by several ministries and state-owned enterprises, which have strained institutional finances, and affected revenue performance.
He said the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, is working to stabilize the system by first lifting those at the bottom to “reasonable levels.”
While acknowledging the frustration of civil servants seeking higher wages, Sen. Moye urged them to consider colleagues, who have worked for years without pay, describing their placement on payroll as a critical step toward stabilizing the civil service.
“I don’t believe civil servants would deny thousands of their colleagues the opportunity to be paid just so they alone can receive increments.”
Moye meanwhile, assured the public that a comprehensive salary increase remains under consideration once the standardization process is completed, and additional fiscal space is created.
He disclosed that US$38.5 million was identified in the draft budget, and allocated to key ministries and agencies to strengthen operations and ensure compliance with statutory mandates.
Sen. Moye further criticized the politicization of the salary issue, calling it misleading, and cautioned newly elected officials against viewing public service as a pathway to personal enrichment.
“Public service should not be treated as a competition,” he said, warning against misinformation, proxy political battles, and character attacks for relevance.
Source: Sam Middlevic Karto/Insights Liberia