MONROVIAV – Former Minister of Finance and Development Planning Samuel D. Tweah Jr. has launched a sharp and data-driven attack on the Unity Party (UP)-led government, accusing it of deliberately concealing millions of dollars in employee compensation while publicly claiming to be reducing Liberia’s wage bill. In a detailed public statement, Tweah revealed that government payroll costs have climbed to US$354 million in the 2026 fiscal year, with US$26 million allegedly hidden under a budget line labeled “Other Compensation.”
Tweah said the disclosure follows what he described as the dismantling of “lies and myths” surrounding fuel and rice prices under the current administration. Turning his focus to the government wage bill, he argued that public debate has been poisoned by misinformation aimed at discrediting the former CDC government. “So many lies were parroted against the CDC about compensation,” Tweah wrote, insisting that transparency in public finance has now become urgent.
According to Tweah, Liberia’s wage bill has expanded dramatically over time, growing from US$113.9 million in 2010 to US$354 million in the 2026 budget. However, he contended that the most troubling aspect of the increase lies not in the headline figure, but in what he described as a deliberate effort by the UP government to obscure part of the payroll. He said US$26 million is parked under ‘Other Compensation,’ a Goods and Services budget line with code 222123, rather than being reported under the standard compensation category.
Tweah stressed that “Other Compensation” was never intended to function as a salary line. “Other Compensation should not be a salary line,” he stated, noting that during the CDC administration the category remained marginal. Under the CDC, he said, the line peaked at just over US$5 million in 2023, stood at slightly above US$2 million in 2022, and averaged below US$200,000 in the years prior.
He accused the current government of transforming the line into a shadow payroll mechanism. “The UP has now taken this as a major line to employ workers and hide the figure from the public,” Tweah said, arguing that the move is calculated to avoid scrutiny. He noted that public attention typically focuses on the core Compensation of Employees line, which the government reports at US$329 million for 2026, leaving the additional US$26 million largely unnoticed.
Tweah called for the immediate abolition of the “Other Compensation” line as a payroll tool and demanded full disclosure. “Government should abolish this line and report all compensation under the 21 coding for Compensation of Employees,” he said. He further urged the Legislature to enforce this correction during the 2026 midterm budget review, insisting that failure to act would amount to institutionalized concealment.
The former finance minister also challenged claims by the Civil Service Agency (CSA) that the wage bill has been reduced under the Boakai administration. He argued that the numbers tell a different story. “With compensation now at US$354 million, this means compensation has increased by more than US$43 million since the CDC exited power,” Tweah wrote, saying the increase directly contradicts official statements and reform commitments.
Tweah went further, asserting that the rising wage bill undermines commitments made to international partners. He said the figures “demolish all false promises made to the IMF under the IMF program,” suggesting that payroll expansion through hidden lines places Liberia’s credibility at risk and weakens claims of fiscal discipline.
Presenting a broader political comparison, Tweah argued that historical wage trends expose contrasting governance records. He said wage data shows a clear pattern in which payroll costs rise under Unity Party administrations and flatten under CDC leadership. He described three phases in the wage curve as rising under AFT UP, flattening under Pro-Poor CDC, and rising again under RESCUE UP, asserting that the pattern reflects fundamentally different approaches to public wage management.
Tweah concluded by urging Liberians, particularly students of economics and business, to scrutinize the figures and assess the sustainability of government payroll growth. He questioned how far the wage bill can expand without improving the salaries of existing civil servants, many of whom he said remain neglected, even as government spending rises under a US$1.2 billion national budget.
