By Lewis S. Teh
MONROVIA, October 14, 2026 – The Civil Service Agency (CSA) has completed manpower hearings for 77 of 109 government spending entities ahead of the 2027 national budget, as authorities move to strengthen payroll accountability and control personnel expenditures.
CSA Director General Dr. Josiah F. Joekai disclosed at the Ministry of Information’s regular press briefing that the exercise, conducted jointly with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), recorded a 70.6 percent participation rate.
He said 32 government entities, representing 29.4 percent, failed to participate, while the comprehensive manpower hearing report has been submitted to the Finance Ministry.
According to Joekai, the hearings are intended to align government staffing requirements with available resources and prevent unauthorized compensation allocations in the national budget.
He explained that the advanced stage of budget preparation makes it impractical to conduct additional hearings for the 32 institutions that did not participate.
“Accordingly, the CSA, working closely with the MFDP, will review their proposed personnel compensation envelopes as they presented during the ongoing executive budget hearings,” he said.
Joekai emphasized that only compensation requests validated through the manpower hearings or approved joint CSA-MFDP reviews will be considered for inclusion in the 2027 budget.
He disclosed that government also intends to significantly restrict extra compensation allocations to reduce unjustified spending and strengthen payroll management.
“The objective is to establish a disciplined, transparent, and accountable compensation management system that ensures public resources are allocated to legitimate staffing needs rather than unsupported expenditure requests,” Joekai stated.
He said the measures would improve budget credibility, reduce unnecessary expenditure pressures and ensure that approved staffing structures correspond with actual personnel requirements.
The CSA chief also highlighted ongoing reforms, including retirement counseling, decentralization of civil service operations and improved personnel management.
According to him, these initiatives are designed to build a more professional, efficient and accountable public service.
“The civil service is stronger today than it was in 2024. Employee confidence is growing, institutional performance is improving,” Joekai maintained.
He commended President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, the Finance Ministry, NASSCORP and CSA employees for supporting the reform agenda.
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