Monrovia – It doesn’t have to be overemphasized once more: the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has stopped funding our price range! This is the lack of hundreds of thousands of US’ taxpayers’ monies that have been being poured into our economic system to assist mitigate a few of our issues. This loss shouldn’t be solely going to have an effect on sectors of the Liberian Government that USAID funded immediately in time previous, however the adverse outcomes are going to be felt nationally.
By Alaska Johnson, contributing author
For this 2025 fiscal yr alone, USAID’s direct assist to the nation’s price range is within the tune of US$74 million. But a dime of this promised may not be realized from the Donald Trump-led US Administration. Aside from this direct budgetary assist, USAID additionally supplies “soft aids” to different establishments which give helps to nationwide establishments, together with the National Elections Commission (NEC).
The NEC, which is a vital and a important sector of the democratic governance processes of Liberia, goes to be adversely affected. Even although USAID doesn’t ship budgetary assist on to the NEC. It, nevertheless, used to assist worldwide and native organizations, which ably assist the workings of the Commission to make it vibrant and viable.
With these USAID helps, which got here to the NEC by establishments just like the Democracy International (DI), Internews, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), and so forth, many Liberians have been employed and or contracted to carry out companies.
However, a high-placed supply inside the worldwide neighborhood, which has been keenly following developments on the NEC, has indicated that the extreme overcrowding of the Electoral Management Body is a big contributing issue to the continued disaster going through the group. Currently, the Commission employs over 300 everlasting employees members, a considerable variety of whom are reportedly inactive, merely current to obtain their salaries and allowances with out contributing meaningfully to the Commission’s day-to-day operations.
Our supply emphasised that’s crucial for each the federal government and the worldwide neighborhood to take speedy and decisive actions to deal with the challenges going through the Commission, in addition to to safeguard the democratic processes in Liberia, particularly as President Donald Trump’s motion may probably have a trickle-down impact on different bilateral and multilateral companions, who present helps to the federal government.
In line with worldwide finest practices for electoral administration our bodies, it’s customary for such organizations to downsize their workforce following main electoral periods to keep up an efficient and environment friendly operational construction. Unfortunately, this has not been the case with Liberia’s National Elections Commission, resulting in among the present inefficiencies and public embarrassment related to its operations.
Research performed by this newspaper exhibits that evaluating the staffing ranges of NEC Liberia to these of its regional counterparts, the discrepancies turn out to be obvious. Despite Liberia having lower than 2.5 million registered voters, its everlasting employees rely vary to Ghana with greater than 18 million registered voters and Sierra Leone with greater than 11 million registered voters.
For occasion, Ghana operates with simply three everlasting Commissioners, whereas Sierra Leone has 5. In stark distinction, Liberia has appointed seven everlasting commissioners. This disproportionate staffing construction has led to an unsustainable monetary burden on authorities and the worldwide neighborhood; the substantial salaries allotted to the National Elections Commission (NEC) employees during times of inactivity are diverting funds away from important improvement applications throughout the nation. The paper recommends a direct restructuring of the Commission to fulfill worldwide customary.
“Media institutions need to take the initiative to visit the NEC to further verify what I am telling you, and to engage with individual staff and commissioners on this matter. You all should also be encouraged to engage with representatives from the international community as well as former commissioners, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the overcrowding at the Commission,” our supply additional emphasised.
In one other improvement, it has been reported that greater than half of the employees members, together with 18 magisterial workplaces staffers of the Commission, have distanced themselves from the conduct of sure colleagues who typically create disruptions and embarrassment for individuals who are diligently working. They have proven assist for the return of the Chairperson of the Commission, Madam Davidetta Brown Lansanah, who labored diligently for the peace that Liberia presently enjoys, particularly after the opposition secured victory by a slender margin.
Those staffers additional said that the Co-chairperson is performing unlawfully, as she was not appointed by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to serve in that capability. They referred to as on electoral stakeholders, together with the worldwide neighborhood, to request that an unbiased investigation be performed to know the true cause behind the current disruptions on the Commission and to revive integrity. The employees mentioned that the particular person main the disruptive acts on the Commission is already retired, greater than 65 years outdated and shouldn’t be listened to, as he isn’t part of the way forward for the Commission.