Getting Tough on Fiscal Policy Enforcement -GoL Revises Travel Orders, Caps Wages & Benefits

MONROVIA – The Joseph Boakai administration, through the Ministry of Finance is getting tough of two highly suspicious policies that defied successive governments, travels and salaries and benefit, with pronounces to rationalize and sanitize Liberia’s public bureaucracy.

Travel Ordinance

In Memorandum issued January 13, a copied shared with The Analyst, Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan circulated to government ministries, agencies and commission Key Revisions to the Government of Liberia Official Travel Ordinance for Foreign and Domestic Travels that are to be implemented subsequent budget year.

“There were amendments made to the 2016/2017 Travel Ordinance and please note that these amendments take effect on January 13, 2025, and apply to all Ministries, Agencies, Commissions, Autonomous Agencies, and State-Owned Enterprises of the Government of Liberia,” he said in the Memorandum. “Compliance with these regulations will ensure the smooth processing of your travel requests.”

He continued, “In view of the aforementioned, I request that you kindly guarantee that the information herein is communicated to relevant staff within your institutions.”

Amongst other things, the ordinance instructs that all foreign travels for official business for all cabinet Ministers, heads of agencies and Commissions shall be authorized by the Office of the President or their boards; and for Deputy and Assistant Ministers and its equivalents in agencies and commission, the respective heads of their institutions shall approve subject to availability of funds for this purpose. However, the head of institution shall communicate with the Office of the President on such approval. All other travels of non-commissioned staff, civil servants and consultants shall be approved by the Head of Institution subject to the availability of funds in the travel budget.

No more than two persons shall constitute a delegation from any Ministry/Agency, State Owned Enterprise (SOE) and Autonomous Agency except for the Foreign Minister (which shall be no more than (three) or in cases where expansion of the delegation is explicitly approved by the President in Writing.

Total GoL funded representation at any program or event held outside Liberia shall not exceed five (5) persons in total regardless of how many entities are involved.

For Specific Trips like High Level Meetings such as the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Africa China Summit, Korea Africa Summit, and Commission on the Status of Women Conference, maximum amount of delegates shall not exceed Seven (7).

 In each case, a request for foreign travel advance shall be prepared in the prescribed Travel Advance Form (Annexure I). Additionally, a copy of the attached presidential approval, or head of the relevant institution and the letter of invitation clearly specifying travel dates shall be required.

Procurement of air tickets shall be done competitively. All Line Ministries and Agencies, Commissions and SOEs, Legislature and Judiciary shall liaise with the Financial Regulation Unit in determining the cost of air ticket for the assurance of comparison with International Air Ticket Prices ensuring minimum costs with similar prices in the Airline Industry. Ministries and agencies shall maintain an updated emailing list of registered and tax compliant travel agencies to whom information about upcoming travels shall be forwarded in a group email for solicitation of quotes. All solicited quotes shall be attached to the documents submitted to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. The Ministry of Finance & Development Planning shall create a group account comprising all tax compliant travel agencies for this purpose.

All Line Ministries, Agencies, Commissions and State Owned Enterprises are encouraged to utilize Road Transportation for neighboring countries such as Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast to cut down cost for air ticket. Travels shall be properly planned at least a week in advance to avoid exorbitant ticket charges or travel may not be funded. Any change to travel plans, unless expressly approved by a competent authority (i.e., the President or Head of Institution), shall be the full responsibility of the traveler.

All Spending Entities shall take deliberate steps to manage their foreign and domestic travel budgets including size of delegation, duration of trip, video conferences and virtual engagements and also ensuring that travelers use the shortest possible routes.

All authorized travel requests shall be forwarded to the Department of Budget and Development Planning of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning for the purpose of issuing allotment. The Department of Budget and Development Planning shall liaise with the Financial Regulations Unit in the Department of Fiscal Affairs Department to obtain the cost of the trip in accordance with the rates and documentation requirements as stated in this ordinance. The Department of Budget and Development planning shall check to ensure that travel request is in line with cash plans based upon which allotment shall be processed.

In the case where an allotment has been done already, Ministries, Agencies and Commissions shall prepare a voucher based on the cost analysis prepared by Financial Regulations Unit and forward to the Accounting Services Unit for processing.

The Office of the Comptroller and Accountant General shall ensure that all foreign travel vouchers are paid in maximum 48 hours once all of the required documentations are attached.

Caps on Salaries, Emoluments

No ministry or agency shall be eligible to receive allotments for goods and services (Account Code 22) unless they have submitted a Procurement Plan to the Public Procurement Concession Commission (PPCC) and the PPCC has approved the plan. Ministries and agencies will update their Procurement Plans periodically, as necessary, to ensure more accurate allotment requests.

No ministry or agency shall be eligible to receive allotments for activity (All Accounts) unless their Spending Plan has been submitted and approved by the Department of Budget and Development Planning at the MFDP.

Ministries and agencies shall update their spending plans on a monthly/quarterly basis to ensure more accurate allotment requests, where necessary. If there are no substantial changes to the Spending Plan, then the ministry or agency should still report to the  Department of Budget that the Spending Plan has not been changed.

 payments shall be made for any expenditure that does not have sufficient allotment. This includes salary payments. Therefore, it is incumbent that ministries and agencies request quarterly allotments for salaries prior to the respective monthly payroll cycles in the quarter. Ministries and agencies that do not submit such allotment request will be penalized and all payments of for good and salaries (Code 22) will be suspended.

Advance Requirements

Select ministries and agencies are entitled to receive advances and make use of bank accounts. However, these privileges are contingent on timely reporting and maintenance of accounting records. Therefore, payments for ministries and agencies will be suspended except for salaries if expenditure reports on the use of outstanding advances are not provided and entered into IFMIS 25 days after the end of each month.

Expenditure Reporting

All ministries and agencies are required to provide quarterly and monthly financial statements as per the PFM regulations. The failure of ministries and agencies to provide the required reports within 25 days after the reporting cycle will result in the suspension of future payments for non-salary expenditures.

Bank Reconciliations

In order to support better financial reporting and cash management, ministries and agencies managing their own bank accounts are required provide monthly bank reconciliations to the Financial Reporting Unit of the office of the CAG within 5 days after the end of the month. If these ministries and agencies do not provide the required reconciliations by the reporting deadline than payments for non-salary expenditures will be suspended.

Wages and Salary Reduction

The Government has also released policy on wages, fuel, scratch cards, and others, with the maximum salary payable to any official in the Executive Branch of Government including State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and Autonomous Agencies not exceeding US$7,861.00.

As per Cabinet decree, total compensation (wages and salaries) and related expenditures, as basic salary for civil service, military and paramilitary services, honorarium, general allowance and special allowance.

Fuel & Scratch Cards

In view of Government’s current austerity measures affecting fuel and scratch cards intended to create savings for government, fuel and scratch cards allowances shall not exceed: Office of the Head of Entity, maximum 150 gallons per month, Office of the Deputy Head of Entity Maximum 125 gallons, Office of Principal assistants, maximum 100 gallons, other Units within the entity Maximum 100 gallons.

Scratch Cards for operational use of the office of the Head of entity, maximum $200; for operational use of the Office of the Deputy Head of Entity, maximum $175; for operational use of the Office of Principal Assistants maximum $150, for operational use of the Units within the entity, maximum $125.

The policy also instructed that no ministry or agency shall be eligible to receive allotments for goods and services unless they have submitted a Procurement Plan to the Public Procurement Concession Commission (PPCC) and the PPCC has approved the plan. Ministries and agencies will update their Procurement Plans periodically, as necessary, to ensure more accurate allotment requests.

No ministry or agency shall be eligible to receive allotments for activity (All Accounts) unless their Spending Plan has been submitted and approved by the Department of Budget and Development Planning at the MFDP.

Ministries and agencies shall update their spending plans on a monthly/quarterly basis to ensure more accurate allotment requests, where necessary. If there are no substantial changes to the Spending Plan, then the ministry or agency should still report to the  Department of Budget that the Spending Plan has not been changed.

No payments shall be made for any expenditure that does not have sufficient allotment. This includes salary payments. Therefore, it is incumbent that ministries and agencies request quarterly allotments for salaries prior to the respective monthly payroll cycles in the quarter. Ministries and agencies that do not submit such allotment request will be penalized and all payments of for good and salaries (Code 22) will be suspended.

Consultancy Services

The remuneration for individual-based consultancy contracts shall not exceed the remuneration of the principal deputy of the institution. In exceptional cases where there is a compelling need, this rule may be relaxed based on approval of PPCC. 

Consultancy contracts shall not be approved for positions in the civil service structure for which skills can be readily found in an institution. 

Consultancy contracts must be task-based and must clearly include knowledge transfer provisions so that civil servants are trained to take up the task on the expiry of the contract.

Consultancy contracts for individuals should not be approved for any recurrent tasks within an institution except for specialized units (e.g. Presidential Delivery Unit, ECOWAS Secretariat, etc.) without statutory existence and in such a case, Presidential approval will be required. However, this does not affect contracts already in force.

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