Ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) Lawmaker Moses Acarous Gray proposes benefits cuts for all 73 members of the House of Representatives to help salvage the economy.
Rep. Gray discloses that he has already written the full Plenary of the House of Representatives, asking for lawmakers’ benefits cuts, noting that if approved, the cuts may range from 10 to 20 percent, affecting domestic, medical, travel and other benefits that are placed in United States’ currency category.
Speaking in a news conference in his office at the Capitol Monday, the governing CDC lawmaker prays that Plenary will accordingly advise the government on how to handle the huge wage bill on the struggling national budget.
Rep. Gray also suggests that since the government is faced with huge financial challenge, the 2019 senatorial by-election and the national census on tenure reduction for elected officials be voted during the 2020 senatorial election to cut down cost and to live within the 1986 Constitution which calls for national census to be conducted across Liberia after every 10 years.
At the same time, the Montserrado County Electoral District#8 Representative Acarous Moses Gray alleges that the former Unity Party-led government collected three years taxes in advance from investors and companies operating in the country prior to turning over office to the governing Coalition for Democratic Change headed by President George Manneh Weah.
He says the administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was dishonest to the Liberian people by collecting three years tax advance, knowing fully that her constitutional tenure was nearing expiration.
He dares any official of the former administration to challenge him on this, naming Bea Mountain Company operating in western Liberia as one of those companies that became a victim of the alleged deadly deal of the Sirleaf administration.
He argues that President George Weah is receiving unnecessary lashes from the people, who created the mess the CDC government is struggling to clean up.
Rep. Gray says it is unfortunate and a disdain for the Unity Party that left the country in economic woes to be crying of bad economy and blaming the Weah-led government for not doing anything to change the economic status code whereas, they contributed to the spoil of the country, significantly.
He calls for an audit of the Unity Party-led administration by the General Auditing Commission and international partners, starting with the bankrupt National Oil Company of Liberia, which was once headed by Madam Sirleaf’s son, Robert Sirleaf.
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The economy has dwindled so badly that payment of salary for civil servants is posing a serious challenge while the Liberian dollar continues to depreciate rapidly against the U.S. dollars with the current market price at LRD175 to US$1.00. By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor–Editing by Jonathan Browne
