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Posted May 28, 2006
Civil Servants Cry Monkey Works Baboon Draws
News Analysis
By Thomas Kai Toteh
The Civil Servant Association
told The Analyst newspaper recently “Every morning and evening civil
servants gather in various street corners to fight for any car that comes in
sight just to come to work on time, and as a result, some people fall and
get hurt or their personal belongings are stolen from them, while government
officials and their cronies drive by.” The association further described
the situation, “Animal Farm.”
The Unity Party led government has vowed to
combat corruption. The vow was put into effect recently with the major
dismissal of government officials and civil servants by the president for
alleged corrupt practices. The president is fulfilling her campaign
promises, even though there has been displeasure from some quarters over the
recent major shakeups. Civil Servant Association described as “wrongful” the
removal of civil servants from their positions in various ministries and
agencies.
Corruption, in its economic context means
financial dishonesty, and in Liberia, typical Liberians define corruption in
part as monkey works baboon draws-when an average Liberian can not earn
$1.00 a day and civil servants can not afford to buy a bag of rice while
others, especially government officials are 95% affluent than all.
Fighting Corruption is a good policy aimed
at generating and realizing the needed revenues for government for the
common good of all Liberians. But what is corruption? In its moral context,
corruption also is insensitivity to the plight of the majority of the
people. Immediately after taking their seats, legislators demanded US$300 to
US$400 monthly salaries and other lucrative monthly and annual benefits
while majority of Liberians whom they serve still lack basic social services
and others roam the streets of Monrovia to make ends meet.
Political or grand corruption takes place
at the highest levels of political authorities. It is when the politicians
and political decision-makers, who are entitled to formulate, establish and
implement the laws in the name of the people, are themselves corrupt, and
use the political power they are armed with to sustain their power, status
and wealth.
Civil servants are threatening to stage a
stay-home strike on June 3, 2006 in demand for better pay and benefits. They
are demanding US$150 dollars monthly pay, but their demand is being rejected
and termed “unrealistic.” US$150 is about three times Senators’ salaries
minus the transportation, allowances, gas slips, and annual benefits.
The legislators have yet to deliberate and
pass legislations that seek to improve civil servants condition in post war
Liberia despite the redundancy exercise, which according to the chief
executive, is intended to shrink government workforce to improve revenues
and salaries.
Corruption can also mean policy formulation
and legislation that is tailored to benefit politicians and legislators.
Political corruption can thus be distinguished from bureaucratic or petty
corruption, which is corruption in the public administration, at the
implementation end of politics. Petty corruption has also been called “low
level” and “street level.” These are the kinds of corruption the citizens
will encounter daily at times in public administration and services like
hospitals, schools, local licensing authorities, police, taxing authorities
and so on.
Corruption can be encouraged in the public
sector when civil servants and paramilitary personnel’s take-home pay are
far less than their basic needs. In past regimes, the people cried “rampant
corruption” when civil servants pocketed government’s taxes and police
received briberies in place of fines and other government needed revenues.
When asked why they (civil servants and police) were pocketing tax monies,
the only answer was “We are imitating higher-ups.” In past regimes, the
people cried rampant corruption when average Liberians struggled to make
ends meet while government officials lived in luxuries-expensive cars,
houses and made frequent trips abroad.
Civil servants say the
government of Liberia has miserably failed to pay or disburse the US $3.5
million placed in the recast budget for salary arrears owing them. Now civil
servants are angry and jealous of the big difference between them (working
employees) and signing and talking employees. They are saying the old system
“Monkey works baboon draws” is still around and is taking a deep root.
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