Govt. pays salary arrears to beach cleaners
The Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) has begun disbursement of five months’ salary arrears to workers of the Reclaiming Liberia beaches and waterway project.
A press release from the MFDP says the amount of twenty-five thousand, two hundred Liberian dollars (LD25, 200) is being disbursed to each beach worker and forty-four thousand, one hundred Liberian dollars (LD44, 100) to each supervisor.
The authorities however did not say how many workers are being paid or the total amount of money being paid out in the current process.
The salary arears payment for the beach and waterways workers followed a memorandum of understanding reached between authorities of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and the leadership of the beach and waterways project workers during Monday, May 25, 2015, protest.
The release says under the MoU, the beach and water ways workers agreed to be paid a settlement equivalent to five months for the period January 2015 to May 2015 for service rendered in the cleaning and maintenance of portions of the beaches and waterways in Montserrado County.
It also noted that the beach and waterways projects leadership agreed to terminate any existing relationship with the Government of Liberia, until such time and under such conditions that the government can initiate a contractual agreement.
The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning is therefore calling on all beach cleaners to proceed to the First International Bank within their communities to receive their five-month salary arrears.
The Government of Liberia under supervision of the Liberia Maritime Authority or LMA launched a massive cleanup of beaches and waterways in Montserrado County few years ago with the contract of community residents, predominantly youths to execute the project. However, due to funding shortage, the project was halted sometimes ago, but the contractors were not paid. They had protested several times both before the LMA head offices in Sinkor, Monrovia and at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning on Broad Street in demand of pay, sometimes prompting intervention from the police. Edited Jonathan Browne
