|
Back To Archives
|
| Finance Ministry Sends Home Over 300 Employees |
| Published on June 30, 2008 | Email To Friend Print Version
|
THE Finance Ministry has announced the implementation of a major Staff Rationalization Exercise with immediate effect.
The exercise affects the three operational departments of the ministry including Administration, Revenue and Expenditure with at least 133 employees afacted.
A Finance Ministry release said the Staff Rationalization Exercise is triggered by massive over-staffing of its workforce which has culminated into redundancies and duplications of functions across the three operational departments of the ministry.
The Ministry said that the Revenue Department alone has in excess of one thousand employees both in the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs and Excise which reflect more than two-third of the entire workforce of the ministry.
The Ministry pointed out that of the total customs revenue, Free Port of Monrovia Collectorate accounts for 97%, while RIA accounts for 2%. The rest of the rural collectorates put together produces the remaining 1%. It is worth noting also that Freeport Collectorate has only 80-employees and RIA 36-employees, together accounting for 34% of total customs employees. The other collectorates combined account for 66% of customs total workforce.
It is evident therefore that most workers in the outstation collectorates are either unproductive ghost employees or not needed for the reduced volume of business transactions currently being performed by the ministry at the rural posts.
The ministry observed clearly that there is a chronic problem of efficiency and reduced productivity in its workforce as can be seen in the case of the Bureau of Customs. 34% of the employees are producing 99% of the total collection through the Freeport and the RIA, while the rural collectorates which accounts for 90% of the total workforce of the Revenue Department collects only 1% of the GOL Customs Revenue.
The Ministry disclosed that the duplication of functions and overlapping simply has created a major operational hurdle in achieving its overall goals, occasioned by the prevalence of an appalling lack of capacity across wide segments of the ministry’s workforce.
At least three hundred thirty three employees have been laid-off as a result of the Staff Rationalization Exercise.
The Ministry wishes to clarify that contrary to insinuation in some media circles, the successful implementation of the Staff Rationalization Exercise was determined by two basic criteria contained in the Civil Service Guidelines: 1) last in first out requirement of the CSA Standing Orders, which takes into consideration the entry on duty date of the staff in a particular department and 2) various efficiency tests on staff to task/productivity ratio conducted by the ministry.
This decision according to the release is part of the overall process of national public sector reform intended to streamline its workforce in order to align the number of staff to task and improve efficiency and productivity in public sector management.
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has honorably retired Forty Five (45) of its employees for their dedicated and sacrificial services to the Government and people of Liberia ranging from periods of 25 to 40 years of national service.
|
|
|
Announcements
|
No Announcement
|
|