By: Melvin Flomo
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MONROVIA, Liberia – The Civil Service Agency (CSA) has unveiled a new payroll and workforce planning initiative aimed at strengthening fiscal discipline and improving personnel management across the Government of Liberia ahead of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 National Budget.
The initiative, announced Thursday during the launch of the FY2027 Draft National Budget at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Monrovia, will require all 109 government spending entities to participate in annual manpower hearings before the national budget is finalized.
CSA Director-General Dr. Josiah F. Joekai Jr. said the hearings will provide ministries, agencies, and commissions with a structured platform to present their staffing needs, workforce gaps, and human resource plans, allowing the government to make informed decisions on personnel costs before budget approval.
According to Dr. Joekai, the measure is intended to strengthen compensation management, improve workforce planning, and reduce the growing number of unplanned salary requests that often place additional strain on the national budget.
He emphasized that integrating manpower planning into the budget formulation process will ensure that government institutions operate within approved staffing structures while promoting greater accountability and transparency in public sector employment.
"The annual manpower hearings will enable the government to align workforce requirements with available fiscal resources, ensuring that personnel decisions are both strategic and financially sustainable," Dr. Joekai said.
Beyond payroll reforms, the CSA also highlighted progress in its decentralization agenda aimed at bringing civil service administration closer to citizens across the country.
Dr. Joekai disclosed that construction of the agency's first regional headquarters in Gbarnga, Bong County, is progressing steadily and is expected to be completed within the next 120 days.
He further announced that the agency is preparing to break ground on another regional office in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, within the next two weeks. The facility will serve government institutions and civil servants across Liberia's five southeastern counties, expanding access to CSA services outside Monrovia.
The latest initiatives form part of the government's broader public sector reform agenda, which seeks to modernize human resource management, strengthen fiscal accountability, and improve the efficiency of the civil service as preparations intensify for the FY2027 National Budget.
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