MONROVIA – The Ministry of Labor has released its first semi-annual financial reports, revealing the collection of over $5 million accrued from alien work permits fees and other revenue collection activities contributed to Government’s Consolidated Account.
According to a release from the Ministry, the USD$5,069,536.63 represents various work permit and associated fees covering the period from January to July, 2024.
The Ministry’s semi-annual reports submitted by Minister Cooper W. Kruah to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and dated August 1, 2024 states: “This report, however, focuses on the semi-annual status of the Ministry highlighting the activities including initial problems, challenges and measures that have been taken to address these problems with specific references to personal, logistics, policy issues, labor disputes and financial matters faced by the ministry.”
Minister Kruah used the report to inform President Boakai that the Ministry collected the total aggregate amount within a period of seven months, from January to July, 2024 as opposed to the lower amount collected in the previous year 2023, prior to the ascendancy of the current Unity Party-led Government.
He also informed President Boakai that the Labor Ministry has a total of 222 employees, 51-assigned to the 14-leeward counties and 171 at central Monrovia office, noting that the Ministry is under staffed to adequately meet up with the current work load.
The Labor Minister expressed concern about the lack of adequate “hearing officers” across the 15 counties to speedily adjudicate critical labor cases, disclosing the reactivation of the Divisions of Health and Safety, Trafficking-In- Person, Tripartite, and Child Labor, as well as the shifting of key personnel in various divisions to enhance efficiency and effectiveness, all in coordination with the Civil Service Agency (CSA).
The Labour Minister’s report decried the acute shortage of budgetary allotment, such as just USD$1,2 million for personnel, USD$10,000 for goods and services and USD$5,000 for cleaning materials.
Meanwhile, Minister Kruah has sent out words of commendation to staff and employees of the Ministry, as well as its partner entity, the CETIS group, for their tremendous support in achieving the feat of the semi-annual period.
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