Africa-Press – Liberia. Local officials in Grand Cape Mount County are to be arbitrarily awarded salaries to themselves, Senator Simeon B. Taylor discloses.
Grand Cape Mount County Senator, Simeon B. Taylor, has formally complained to members of the County Administration and the County Council for allegedly breaching Section 2.9 of the Local Government Act, which governs the allocation of honorariums for local officials.
In a strongly worded communication dated July 2, 2025, addressed to Senate President Pro-Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence and members of the Liberian Senate, Sen. Taylor called for immediate legislative intervention.
“Please accept my compliments and herewith consider this letter as a formal complaint against the County Administration (Superintendents) and the County Council of Grand Cape Mount County for gross breach of Section 2.9 of the Local Government Act,” the letter stated.
According to Sen. Taylor, the Local Government Act explicitly states that the Legislature must set the ceiling for honorarium payments to County Council members every four years. He cited the relevant portion of Section 2.9 under the heading “Remuneration”:
“County Council Members shall be paid an honorarium from the county budget. The Legislature shall set the ceiling for such honorarium every four (4) years.”
However, Sen. Taylor alleges that officials in Grand Cape Mount County unilaterally determined and approved their own honorarium payment scheme without consulting or receiving approval from the Legislature, which he described as a “flagrant violation of the law.”
He referenced a County Council Resolution dated November 16, 2024, specifically Count Six, which authorized the use of L$3,645,806.94, or 10% of the county’s total budget, to be equally distributed between members of the County Administration and the County Council as administrative costs.
“This act… not only amounts to a flagrant violation of our laws, but also constitutes total disrespect for the Legislature,” Taylor said. “It is a dangerous and harmful practice to see people designated to perform tasks on behalf of the county engage in the wrongful use of the people’s money.”
He further called on the Senate to summon the Minister of Local Government or Internal Affairs, Francis S. Nyumalin, along with the accused County officials, to explain why such a breach occurred under his watch.
The Senator urged the Senate Plenary to consider referring the matter to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) for further investigation and potential legal action.
“I implore the Senate Plenary to forward members of the County Administration and the County Council of Grand Cape Mount County to the LACC for further investigation into this gross misconduct,” he concluded.
This latest development highlights growing concerns over transparency and accountability in local governance, as Liberia advances with its decentralization efforts and the full implementation of the Local Government Act.
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