By:Aaron Kubahn Email:aaronkubahn2015@gmail.com 0888832186/0776049985
Monrovia, Liberia – Liberia’s Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, has pledged that the living and working conditions of government employees will significantly improve under the current administration. He made the statement while serving as keynote speaker at the induction ceremony of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Workers Association.
Speaking passionately to staffers and dignitaries gathered at the event, Minister Ngafuan said the government has already taken bold steps toward addressing long-standing salary disparities across the public sector. He revealed that nearly 28,000 government employees have benefited from recent salary adjustments—an achievement many had once considered impossible.
“When we said we would improve the salaries of government workers, many doubted us. But today, go to the health sector, go to the Army, go to education, even the judiciary—you will see the progress we’ve made with so little,” Ngafuan declared.
He emphasized that improving the welfare of public servants is not just a policy goal but a central part of the administration’s broader “Liberian First” agenda—an initiative aimed at prioritizing national development through local empowerment.
While acknowledging the enormous challenges inherited by the current administration, the finance minister said the government is determined to do more with what it has, noting that recent gains on the global stage—such as Liberia’s election to a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council—will create new opportunities to leverage international partnerships for domestic growth.
“We have won this UN seat, and it is going to give us more leverage. With success in our Liberian First agenda, we will increase the national pie—and everyone will benefit,” he said.
Ngafuan also hinted that infrastructure development will complement these efforts, with increased spending on roads, energy, water, and education to improve the environment in which government workers and citizens operate.
“The roads we are building will be open to all—not just those with political party ID cards,” he stated, adding that access to electricity is projected to rise from 33% to at least 75% under Liberia’s current energy compact.
The finance minister ended his remarks with a message of urgency, saying President Joseph Boakai is “impatient with delay” and has directed the administration to “spring into action” to meet the needs of the Liberian people—including its civil servants.
