Three Liberian Lawmakers Allot US$3 Million to their Offices

In the face of hardship and penury in the country coupled with successive budget short-fall in a row, the three higher bureaucrats at the National Legislature-House Speaker Alex Tyler, President Pro tempore Gbehzohngar Findley and Deputy Speaker Hans Barchue have allotted about US$3.5 Millions to their offices in the 2014-2015 budget.

According to mathematical breakdown of the draft budget, Speaker Tyler is allotted about 1.054,372 while US$345,664 is allotted for compensation of employees in his office while civil service employees at the same office get US$62,810 of this amount. . In the 2013-2014 approved budget, the Speaker office received the amount of US$1.174m excluding other benefits.

The draft budget fellow shows US$210,854 as general allowance for the speaker of which US$72,000 is appropriated for special allowance, while US$497,854 allotted for goods and services for the office of the speaker.

The President Pro Tempore of the Liberian Senate Gbehzohngar Findley who is facing difficulties for his re-election in office is allotted US$1.341Million in the draft budget for 2014-2015. Perhaps, Senator Findley is allotted more amount than the Speaker Tyler to helps strengthen his financial will power for re-election in the October 2014 Senatorial polls.

It has also been uncovered that compensation of employees in Findley’s office accounts for US$397,433 while civil servants employees in the same office are allotted US$97,133. Senator Findley’s office gets US$228,300 for general allowance and US$72,000 for special allowance for the same office while goods and services the office of Senator Findley is allotted US$386,254, respectively.

The Draft Budget for 2014-2015 also appropriated US$742,387 for the office of Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hans Barchue while of this amount US$236,297 is allotted as compensation for employee in the Deputy Speaker’s office. Also, US$64,740 goes towards civil service in the office while goods and services amounts take US$499,090, respectively.

Recently to be precise, on April 30 of this year, the Executive Branch of Government presented to the 53rd Legislature the draft budget amounting to US$553 Million but later increased by US$29Million, totaling US$582Million for the fiscal year 2014-2015. The budget is yet to be passed into law by the legislature, as the House of Representatives is pressing for the inclusion of additional US$73Million for direct district development.

It is uncertain if the Lawmakers will approve that amount or opt for increment as has been done in the past. The total employees’ salary for the Legislature is put at 18.754million a little reduction from the US$19.176 million in 2013/2014.

Meanwhile, following more than a week wrangling over the previous budget that was submitted by the executive and the Legislature denying being in possession of the said document due to what sources termed the omission of the proposed US$73 Million, the executive submitted a new budget adding US$18.25M for Direct District Development less than half of what was proposed by the Lawmakers.

But with the excesses brought to bear due to the past three successive shortfalls, many Liberians would find it difficult to believe that the Legislature itself would be taking a huge chunk of the 2014/2015 national budget if all factors remain constant after the budget debates.

Though the Legislature did not submit any budget note outlining what it achieved during FY: 2013/2014 and its priorities for the new budget year FY: 2014/2015, the Lawmakers have been allotted 30.680 about eight million, down from what it was allotted in the last fiscal year put at 39.785 Million with a total of 39.608 million disbursed to the Legislature according to the fiscal outturn report.