By Lewis S. Teh
MONROVIA, May 11, 2026—The Civil Service Agency (CSA) says it has blocked 1,381 names it described as unverified from the Ministry of Local Government payroll.
The move follows a nationwide personnel and credential verification exercise aimed at strengthening payroll integrity and advancing public sector reforms.
CSA Director-General Dr. Josiah F. Joekai Jr., on Friday, May 8, presented the Personnel and Credential Verification Report—along with a newly developed Human Resources Digital System to Local Government Minister F. Sakila Nyumalin Sr. in Monrovia.
According to the CSA, the exercise was launched in December 2025 at the ministry’s request—then operating under the Ministry of Internal Affairs —and began in Montserrado County before resuming in February 2026 across the 14 remaining counties. The 24-day operation targeted all 4,724 employees listed under the ministry, representing 100 percent of its reported workforce.
The CSA said that about 70 percent of 3,325 employees were verified. It reported 1,381 employees, about 29 percent, nearly three of every 10 workers, were not verified and have been blocked from the payroll pending further action.
Of those captured, the agency counted 1,770 civil servants (37.5 percent) and 1,555 paid appointees (32.9 percent).
Another 830 persons were listed as “special case” appointees awaiting payroll enrollment, while 18 staff were excused with what the CSA termed legitimate reasons.
Dr. Joekai said a review of personnel files uncovered widespread gaps, including missing letters of employment, academic and professional credentials, recommendation letters and national identification cards.
“What that show is a weak documentation system, and that undermines accountability and workforce planning. It needs immediate intervention,” he said.
The CSA also flagged 474 attendance anomalies and recommended sanctions ranging from salary deductions to dismissal. It recommended salary deductions for 77 employees.
The report further recommended one-month suspension without pay for 305 employees and dismissal for 92. “These attendance anomalies signal a disturbing problem with productivity and efficiency,” Dr. Joekai said.
On staff qualifications, the CSA said 1,160 employees had no academic or professional credentials on file. It listed 290 with only a high school diploma, 63 with associate degrees, 156 with bachelor’s degrees, 12 with master’s degrees, 86 with professional/vocational certifications, and one staff with a PhD.
Overall, the CSA said more than 82 percent of the ministry’s staff have either no credentials or only a high school diploma, which it described as a “gross lack of advanced qualifications.” Dr. Joekai urged urgent and intentional capacity development.
On job alignment, Dr. Joekai said 1,444 employees were “rightly placed,” while 257 were underqualified, 55 overqualified, and 14 misplaced. He estimated that 18.42 percent of the workforce requires immediate HR intervention through reclassification, redeployment, and targeted training.
On gender, the CSA said its gender analysis showed women remain significantly underrepresented. Among civil servants, it counted 1,238 males (69.94 percent) and 532 females (30.06 percent). For appointees on payroll, it recorded 1,396 males (89.83 percent) and 159 females (10.17 percent).
On workforce sustainability, the report said 936 employees are below age 50, 411 are in the pre-retirement bracket of 50–59, and 406 are at retirement age. Another 17 employees reportedly had no date of birth on file.
Among key recommendations, the CSA called for the continued blocking of the 1,381 unverified staff pending verification. It said employees who fail to appear within 30 days will be removed in keeping with CSA policy.
On attendance, the CSA reiterated its recommendation to suspend 305 employees without pay for one month, deduct salaries for 77, and dismiss 92.
The agency also recommended transitioning 406 retirement-eligible employees, and realigning roles through reclassification, redeployment and reassignment based on qualifications.
Dr. Joekai thanked the Ministry and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for supporting the process, describing it as a “giant step toward public sector reform and enhanced productivity.” He said the reforms align with the CSA’s mandate to strengthen human resource management across the government’s 109 spending entities.
