By Jamesetta D. Williams
Monrovia- The Director-General of the Civil Service Agency (CSA), Dr. Josiah F. Joekai Jr., says the government is making progress in public service reforms, including retirement preparation, decentralization of services, and improved management of government employees.
Speaking at the Ministry of Information press briefing on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, Dr. Joekai said the reforms are intended to strengthen accountability, protect the rights of civil servants, and improve the delivery of public services across Liberia.
He said the CSA, in collaboration with the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP), is conducting a nationwide pre-retirement counseling and data collection exercise scheduled to run from September 21 to October 16, 2026.
According to him, the exercise has so far reached 2,042 eligible government employees across 14 reported locations.
Dr. Joekai explained that the initiative is designed to prepare employees for retirement, verify their employment and personnel records, and ensure they understand the procedures for accessing their retirement benefits.
The exercise includes counseling on the statutory retirement age of 60, medical retirement requirements, retirement procedures, pension eligibility, contribution records, benefit calculations, and pension payment arrangements.
He said employees are also receiving assistance with documentation, biometric identification, and the completion of pension benefit forms.
The CSA Director-General explained that employees born before 1980 generally require at least 100 monthly contributions to qualify for a pension, while those born in 1980 or later require 144 monthly contributions, subject to applicable NASSCORP eligibility requirements.
The exercise also involves collecting and verifying personal and employment information, including employee identification numbers, Social Security numbers, dates of employment, employing institutions, and areas of assignment.
Participants are required to provide supporting documents, including retirement letters issued by their respective institutions, identification cards, passport-sized photographs, and other relevant records.
Dr. Joekai said biometric information is being collected to strengthen identification, facilitate proof of life, and improve the accuracy of pension records.
The CSA Director-General disclosed that the government has formally requested funding for a retirement handshake package for eligible public servants preparing to leave active service.
He said the government had not allocated a handshake package during the 2024 retirement exercise, prompting the administration to introduce a temporary arrangement under which eligible retirees stayed home for three months while continuing to receive their salaries.
At the end of the three-month period, their retirement processing was completed, and they were transferred to the pension payroll.
Dr. Joekai said the CSA has now written to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning to request funding for a handshake package for the current group of retirees.
He expressed optimism that the ministry would consider the request, noting that the package would help provide a more dignified transition for government employees who have served the country.
However, he acknowledged that the availability of the package would depend on the outcome of discussions with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.
The CSA Director-General also urged eligible employees who have not participated in the ongoing retirement exercise to attend their scheduled sessions before the October 16 deadline.
The final week’s activities, which began on October 12, cover Nimba, Grand Gedeh, Montserrado, Bomi, and Bong counties, according to his announcement.
He called on heads of government institutions and human resource directors to ensure that eligible employees receive the necessary support to participate.
“Retirement must be a properly managed transition, not a period of uncertainty, anxiety, or administrative hardship,” Dr. Joekai emphasized.
Dr. Joekai also highlighted the government’s decentralization initiative, which seeks to reduce the need for civil servants outside Monrovia to travel to the capital to access basic personnel and human resource management services.
He said the CSA is establishing and strengthening regional offices to make services more accessible, reduce travel costs, and improve administrative efficiency across the country.
According to him, the regional office in Tubmanburg, Bomi County, has been completed, dedicated, and made operational.
The facility is expected to serve government employees in Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, and Gbarpolu counties.
He also reported progress on the construction of the CSA’s North-Central Regional Headquarters in Gbarnga, Bong County, where roofing work is expected to begin shortly.
The facility consists of two main buildings, one intended for administrative offices and the other for conferences and meetings. The project also includes parking facilities and pedestrian walkways.
Dr. Joekai said construction is progressing, with completion and dedication anticipated by the end of December 2026.
He further disclosed that construction of the Southeastern Regional Headquarters in Greenville, Sinoe County, is underway.
According to him, foundation work for the administrative building has been completed, while concrete work and foundation construction for the conference facilities are ongoing.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of January 2027.
Once operational, the facility will serve Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Maryland, River Gee, Sinoe, and other counties in the southeastern region, improving access to CSA services.
The CSA Director-General also announced plans to establish another regional headquarters in Gbarpolu County, with the county administration having offered approximately two acres of land for the project.
He said the agency will work with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning to secure funding in the 2027 national budget for the proposed facility.
Dr. Joekai said these investments demonstrate the government’s commitment to translating decentralization policies into practical improvements in public service delivery.
He added that the long-term objective is to provide regional offices with the personnel, technology, administrative systems, and resources needed to deliver services currently concentrated at the CSA’s headquarters in Monrovia.
Meanwhile, Dr. Joekai announced that the CSA and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning have completed the 2027 national manpower hearings for 77 of the 109 government spending entities required to participate.
He said the exercise represents a participation rate of approximately 70.6 percent, while 32 institutions, representing 29.4 percent, did not participate.
The hearings are intended to determine the personnel and compensation needs of government institutions and ensure that proposed budget allocations reflect legitimate staffing requirements.
According to Dr. Joekai, the CSA has submitted a comprehensive manpower hearing report to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning for consideration during the national budget preparation process.
He explained that, because of the strict timeline for preparing the 2027 national budget, it is no longer practical to conduct additional full-scale hearings for the 32 institutions that failed to participate.
Instead, the CSA and the finance ministry are reviewing the proposed personnel compensation allocations of those institutions during the ongoing executive budget hearings.
He said the review will determine legitimate manpower needs and appropriate compensation provisions based on established personnel records, budget requirements, and applicable controls.
Dr. Joekai stressed that only personnel compensation validated through the manpower hearing process or the approved joint review by the CSA and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning would be considered for inclusion in the 2027 national budget.
He said the measure is intended to eliminate unjustified personnel compensation requests, reduce inconsistencies between approved staffing requirements and budget allocations, and strengthen the integrity of government payroll management.
The reform is also expected to improve budget credibility, promote accountability among spending entities, and ensure that public resources are allocated according to verified staffing needs.
Responding to questions from journalists, Dr. Joekai said the agency has strengthened mechanisms for addressing employment grievances and protecting the rights of civil servants.
He disclosed that the CSA has received and investigated numerous complaints involving suspensions, transfers, and other employment-related decisions.
According to him, the agency’s grievance and complaint management system provides civil servants with a formal channel to challenge decisions they believe violate established laws and regulations.
He said the CSA has helped reinstate employees who were wrongfully dismissed or suspended and has issued reversal letters in cases involving transfers that were found to be unjustified.
Dr. Joekai maintained that these interventions are based on applicable laws and regulations rather than personal decisions by the agency’s leadership.
He said the grievance system is intended to ensure fairness in the workplace while also holding employees accountable for their responsibilities.
The CSA Director-General added that the agency is working to ensure that employees are paid according to their appropriate classifications and salary grades.
He explained that employee verification exercises sometimes reveal workers whose qualifications and experience are not reflected in their current positions.
In such cases, the CSA recommends reclassification or redeployment to ensure that employees are assigned to positions consistent with their qualifications, experience, and established personnel requirements.
He said the objective is to professionalize the civil service, improve employee satisfaction, and create opportunities for professional development without unnecessarily removing people from their jobs.
Dr. Joekai said the ongoing initiatives form part of a broader effort to build a professional, transparent, accountable, and performance-driven civil service.
He maintained that retirement counseling, decentralization, manpower planning, and improved grievance mechanisms are interconnected reforms intended to strengthen institutions and improve the welfare of public servants.
He acknowledged that challenges remain but said the government is demonstrating progress through infrastructure investments, administrative reforms, and improved mechanisms for managing the public workforce.
The CSA Director-General credited President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s administration and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning for supporting the agency’s reform agenda.
He reaffirmed the CSA’s commitment to protecting the legitimate rights of civil servants, strengthening institutional accountability, managing public resources responsibly, and making government services more accessible throughout Liberia.
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