By Bridgett Milton
House Speaker Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa says he will not do anything that will deny Civil Servants their timely salary payment or stop the workings of the Government of Liberia.
During a meeting with over thirty accredited reporters at the Capitol Building on Friday, 23 February 2024, Cllr. Koffa said people expected him to prevent the passage of the US $41.3m budget requested by the Executive.
He said people had thought that by blocking the passage of the budget, he would have been acting tough as an opposition Speaker of the House of Representatives.
On the contrary, Koffa said he is committed to working with all branches of the government to create a healthy balance in the interest of the country and the people.
Speaker Koffa added that the House of Representatives is committed to promoting transparency, accountability, and openness under his leadership.
At the same time, he encouraged reporters to seek clarification on issues to ensure accurate public information.
Recently, the House of Representatives unanimously voted to pass the request made by President Joseph Nyumah Boakai to spend a little over 41 million United States dollars.
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The Executive requested the amount to cover the government’s operations for the month of February 2024.
On 20 February 2024, the House Plenary agreed with the executive by approving the budget requested.
In a Report from its Joint Committee on Ways, Means, Finance and Development Planning and Public Accounts, it was recommended that the request be approved to avoid the government shutting down as well as the payment of civil servants’ salaries.
According to Cllr. Koffa, the primary objective was to fortify the relationship between the House of Representatives and the media.
During the engagement with reporters, Speaker Koffa expressed gratitude for the media’s coverage of the House of Representatives and pledged to maintain regular interactions with the press.
For his part, outgoing Legislative reporters’ president Henry Karmo congratulated Speaker Koffa on behalf of the reporters on his election.
