The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
September 11, 2020

Introduction
Recently, a lot has been said about salaries’ reduction, harmonization to include the twenty-Five percent cut in President Weah’s salary as announced in his first state of the nation’s address and a proposal from Montserrado County Senator Darrius Dillon to create a law setting salaries for the Legislature. The pejorative or huge Salary payments to a few citizens while the majority lived in poverty are increasing concerns in Liberia. Despite existing statutes that determined salaries for President, Vice president, Speaker, members of the Legislature, the Chief Justice, Associate Justices and judges and despite the first branch of government having that conferring authority to determine its own and other official’s salaries as unambiguously mandated by the 1847 and 1986 Constitutions to decide pay for services rendered to the Republic; that context that no salary should be self-executing neither by the President, Vice president, Speaker nor the Chief Justice, except by the expressed will of lawmakers is the constitutional directive and prescribed in statutes for salaries of these most senior officials.

Hence, these pages comparatively try to look at the huge disapproving salaries of Liberia’s most senior officials against the voices of the statutes, especially the twenty-five percent deduction of the President’s salary, decision to create a new law setting salaries for the Legislature amidst existing laws and to determine whether provided budgetary appropriated compensations are the required law as mandated by the framers. And if not what is the likely decision to protect public monies against individuals’ distributions outside the words of the constitution and statutes?
So, from the above introductory comment, what do the laws say on the salaries of these officials?
The salaries of Liberia’s presidency and vice presidency, the constitution, Article 60

Historically, the 1986 Constitution of Liberia is an offspring of the 1847 constitution which earlier decided salaries are paid to persons who performed services to the Republic. The 1986 constitution explicitly states that “The President and the Vice-President shall receive salaries which shall be determined by the Legislature and be paid by the Republic . Such salaries shall be subject to taxes as defined by law and shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which the President and the Vice-President shall have elected.” Article 60, Liberian Constitution, 1986.

In devotion to this Constitutional directive, prior Legislatures of Liberia amended previous legislations; they determined salaries for the president and vice president of the Republic. That is, they enacted that “the President of the Republic of Liberia shall receive as the salary, Thirty-Six Thousand ($36,000.00) Dollars per annum.” Meaning, until amended or repeal, a sitting president of Liberia shall be paid by the Republic a monthly salary of $3,000.00. § 1.2, Liberian Code Revised, Volume III, Executive Law, page 341, published July 10, 1975.
For the Vice president, the framers also mandated that “the Vice president of Liberia shall receive as the salary of Twelve Thousand ($12,000.00) Dollars per annum,” a monthly income of $1,000.00. § 1.2, Liberian Code Revised Volume III, Executive Law, page 341, published July 10, 1975.  

Salaries of the Speaker, and members of the Legislature: Constitution, Article 36
Concerning the speaker and members of the Legislature, their salaries are also not self-executory, they are determined by statute. That is to say, the framers of the constitution of Liberia wrote these words, “The Senators and Representatives shall receive from the Republic remuneration for their services to be fixed by the law provided that any increase shall become effective at the beginning of the next fiscal year.”

In obedience to the constitutional provision, prior Legislature enacted legislation directing and determining salaries and allowances of the Speaker, President Pro-tempore, and members of the Legislature. For salaries “to be fixed by the law,” there is usually a legislative committee mandated by its plenary to present a proposal on remunerations and benefits, the proposal is debated and voted on and concurred with by the house from which a bill did not originates, signed by the president of Liberia and printed into handbills. It is from such statute, an operational document, called Budget; the Ministry of Finance uses to ensure that Senators and Representatives are provided salaries and allowances through annual budgetary appropriation.  
 
So, from the directive of the 1986 constitution, these mandatory words were enacted: “salaries and allowances of members of the Legislature and its officers and employees shall be provided by annual budgetary appropriation. The salary of the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be equal to the salary paid to the Vice president of Liberia. Salary of the President pro-Tempore of the Senate shall be one and one-half, or 50 percent more than, that of the other members of the senate. Section 32, Chapter 2, Liberian Code revised, Volume IV, Pages 385-386, 1957

The Speaker’s salary: Since the executive law, Liberian code Revised, Volume III section 1.3 sets the vice president’s salary at $12,000.00 and that Section 32, Chapter 2, Liberian Code revised, Volume IV, Pages 385-386, 1957 mandates that the Speaker’s salary be equal to that of the Vice President, the fact growing therefrom is, the Speaker’s salary by law is $12,000.00, the equivalent to Vice President’s salary of $12,000.00.   This is the law; until an amendment or a repealed statute is seeing.

President Pro-Tempore's Salary: It “shall be one and one-half, or 50 percent more than, that of the other members of the senate.” From the provision above, deductive reasoning is that since the President Pro-Tempore's position is not co-equal to the positions of the Speaker and Vice president, his or her salary by law is less than $12,000.00. At most, Pro-Tempore's salary should be $11,999.99. Section 32, Chapter 2, Liberian Code revised, Volume IV, Pages 385-386, 1957

Senators’ salaries: From these obligatory words, the Pro-Tempore's salary, which “shall be one and one-half, or 50 percent more than, that of the other members of the senate. The reversed will be the salary of a Senator. Meaning, an individual Senator’s salary shall be less than one and one-half or less than 50 percent of the President Pro-Tempore's salary. Hence, since the salary of the Pro-Tempore is not equal to the salaries of the Speaker and Vice President, the amount of $12,000.00 as set by law; the most likely of $11,999.99 being the Pro-Tempore's salary; 50 percent of that amount less the amount is the most likely salary of a Senator. That is to say, 50 percent of $11,999.99 a round-up figure of $6,000.00 per annum. Hence, the $6,000.00 less 11,999.99 which is $5,999.99 will most likely be the salary of an individual Senator by annum.

Representatives’ salaries: using the same parity of reasoning that Representatives and Senators are co-equal for purposes of services rendered to the Republic for salaries, an individual Representative shall make a likely salary of $5,999.99 or less per annum until the law is changed.  

The Chief Justice and Associate Justices, Salary Article 72(a)
Liberia’s Chief Justice, Associate Justices and judges, the 1986 constitution also directs that “Justices of the Supreme Court and all other judges shall receive such salaries, allowances, and benefits as shall be established by law. Such salaries shall be subject to taxes as defined by law, provided that they shall not otherwise be diminished. Allowances and benefits paid to Justices of the Supreme Court and judges of subordinate courts may by law be increased but may not be diminished except under a national program enacted by the Legislature; nor shall such allowance and benefits be subject to taxation.”

Fulfilling the above constitutional provision, a statute exists to the effect that it’s printed into handbill and codified: “the salaries of justices, judges, and stipendiary magistrates shall be fixed and shall be provided by annual budgetary appropriation. The salary to be provided for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall be the same as that of the Vice President." Section 13.4, Title 17, Liberian Code Revised, 1956.

Chief Justice’s Salary: Since the law says a Liberia’s Chief Justice’s Salary shall be the same as the salary of the Vice President, and that the salary of the Vice president is $12,000.00, that goes to say a Chief Justice of the Republic shall be provided a salary of $12,000.00 per annum, the same as that of the Vice president.
From the facts and circumstances provided above, the following interrogations are necessary to be addressed for observation and recommendation:

1.      Whether or not provided annual budgetary appropriations of salaries and benefits to senior government officials are salaries and benefits “fixed by law?”
2.      Whether a sitting Liberian President has a duty to reduce or increase his salary why elected as president and whether a Chief Justice of Liberia has a similar right to reduce or acquiesced to  salaries reduction of judges and Magistrates?
3.      And whether the Legislature can create a new law amidst an existing law on the same subject, in this case, a salary?

Addressing the first issue “whether or not “provided annual budgetary appropriations of salaries to senior government officials are “salaries and benefits “fixed by law?” It’s rightfully sound to wisecrack in the negative or by saying NO! No, provided an annual budgetary appropriation of a salary and benefits to any sitting President of Liberia, elected speaker, Chief Justice, et’ al is in an exclusive context of the meaning “fixed” salary and benefits by law. Providing salaries by budgetary appropriation is the action that follows after salaries are fixed by law. Section 13.4, Title 17 of the Liberian Code Revised, 1956, as read and cited above mandates that salaries to the President, Vice President, Speaker, Chief Justice, Associate Justices, Judges, president pro-tempore, and members of the Legislature shall be “fixed by statute and be provided by budgetary appropriation.” The interpretation of the mandated voice of the framers is that before salaries and benefits for these officials are “provided” (appropriated) by the Legislature and the finance authorities, The Legislature alone must first fixed salaries and benefits, creating a law. So, the Executive Law, Judiciary Law, and Legislative laws as enacted are the laws fixed determining salaries. And until amended or repealed, they are the laws on salaries for these officials. To emphasize, it is important to indicate for recognition that the coordinating conjunction “and” between the clauses of the provision, “fixed by statute” and “be provided by budgetary appropriation,” give a clearer meaning to the effect that the Ministry of Finance cannot appropriate salaries for these officials without an existing law as mandated by the Constitution of Liberia.  Hence, anything to the contrary from these provisions by appropriating salaries to the named officials of government without statutory consideration is likely described as breaking the law or acting unauthorized against the constitution and laws.

On the second issue “whether a sitting Liberian President has any duty to reduce or increase his salary why elected as president and whether a Chief Justice has a similar right to reduce salaries of judges?”

It’s also important to not answer in the affirmative because a sitting President who reduces or increases his salary why elected is in a clear violation of the Constitution and law on salary and benefits of a president fixed by law for services rendered to the Republic of Liberia.  Hence, the twenty-five percent reduction announced in President Weah’s first State of the Nation’s address was ill-advised and unlawful.

Also in regards to a salary reduction or harmonization, there’s information that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia acted or acquiesced for the Ministry of Finance to reduce the salary of judges of courts. This too is very likely unconstitutional and contradicts Section 13.4, Title 17 of the Liberian Code Revised, 1956.
The Third issue “whether a new law can be created without amending or repealing an existing law with the same subject? No, is the answer. Amidst an existing law, no new law with the same subject can be created except to amend or repeal.  

Recommendation
Following the facts, circumstances, and laws provided, and with current domestic and global realities, the followings are recommended: Firstly, that Members of the National Legislature considers a review of the existing statutes on salaries of the President, Vice president, Speaker, Chief Justice, et’ al in full view of what the constitution says;  Secondly, that the government of Liberia revert to existing laws in the payment of salaries of the concerns; thirdly, that the General Auditing Commission of Liberia conduct a special audit to ascertain whether salaries to senior government officials have been paid according to law. On the contrary, the Auditor-General must issue an advisory opinion on whether restitution for the extras are necessary.  Lastly, that judges' salaries be reverted as the harmonization was likely contrary to law. 
Observations and Conclusion

In the 2019 /2020 Budget, it is overwhelmingly observed that the president, Vice president, Speaker, President pro-tempore, the Chief Justice and Associate justices’ salaries are not statutory compliant. Observation further shows that officials are taking disapproving salaries: Like the President of Liberia, George M. Weah, instead of the “fixed salary of $36,000.00; he has provided a salary of $2,852,019.00 budgeted for the Fiscal year 2019/2020; absence an amendment of the fixed statute.

Also observed is that the Vice President, Madam Jewel H. Taylor’s salary for services rendered to the Republic, instead of the statutory amount of $12,000.00, she has provided, $1,890,841.00 for the fiscal year 2019/2020; this too is contrary to the statute and absence an amendment thereto.

The speaker of the House of Representatives, it is observed that the Speaker instead of statutory determined Twelve Thousand dollars ($12,000.00) remuneration; he had provided in the 2019/2020 budget, a compensation for services provided the Republic, the sum of One Million Two Hundred Twenty-One Thousand One Hundred twenty-Three dollars ($1,221, 123.00). It is important to note that besides statutory compliance issues; the current budget lacks clarity as to Speaker Chambers’ actual salary. The lack of clarity, it’s worthy to further note a quotation from allafrica.com. The online media which quotes Speaker Chambers’ political Affairs and Communication officer, George D. Wilkins as saying, "Speaker Chambers and Deputy Speaker Moye, hereby make it unequivocally clear that they have already as of the passage of the budget, made individual cuts in their respective compensation lines by 31.9% and 35.6%."  An amount of One Million Forty-Three Thousand two Hundred Sixty-Five dollars (US$1,043, 265); this quotation beside its contravention of the figure in the national budget, it reveals the arbitrariness of individuals deciding salaries for themselves or cutting salaries without Legislative approval.  Same for members of the House of Representatives, they had provided plus Six-point Nine Million dollars ( $6, 860,856.00) in the 2019/2020 budget as salaries and benefits. This is also not explicitly provided by statute, a contradiction to the intent of the framers.

In conclusion, comparing the facts, the circumstances, and the voice of the statute to current compensation and benefits of Liberia’s senior government officials, it is a conclusion that budgetary appropriation of salaries to the President of Liberia, Vice President, Speaker and members of the Legislature, Chief Justices, Associate Justices and Judges are contrary from existing statutes. And the argument that budgetary appropriation of salaries provided to these officials are the fixed laws the framers mandated, it’s a holding that this is unlikely. Hence, if Liberia is a country of laws and not men, and that these officials took a solemn oath or affirmation to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and laws of the Republic, their enormous salaries and allowances contrary to what the laws say are justifiable, must be enacted; as any salary of these officials not fixed is likely a violation and an unprotected action which must be noted by the Auditor General, the International Community and Liberians as a whole.

About the Author: James N. Jensen can be reached at: email:jjensen945@gmail.com
RESIDENCE: PENNSYLVANIA, USA

 

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