Liberia: “MICAT Is A Neglected, Dysfunctional Ministry”

Mr. Jerolimek Matthew Piah, Minister of Information-Designate, has described the Ministry of Information as a cemetery. As one who served at the helm of the ministry briefly during the administration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, he told Senators that he is inheriting a dysfunctional ministry that is deplorable and lacks necessary equipment.

“MICAT is often referred to as a graveyard in the governing structure, an entity that represents a symbol of neglect and abandonment by succeeding administrations. This sad story and chapter could come to an end, with your support, honorable senators,” Piah said at his confirmation hearing. 

Piah described the structure housing the Ministry of Information as a dilapidated building with leaking offices, a lack of equipment, and working tools, no transportation for employees, and woeful salary structures, with some employees earning as little as US$40.

Piah made the statement yesterday, when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Information and Broadcasting, in the Chamber of the Senate at the Capitol.

“We are also informed that a ministry as small as the Ministry of Information has over 400 employees; I am wondering where they are sitting and where they are working. If confirmed, we will be inserting a press demoralized, demotivated with no spirited workforce... but we will work to change their story.”

Piah promised to strengthen the Ministry’s partnership, collaboration, and bonds with the country’s media, asserting that the media as the fourth estate remains very critical in the promotion of good governance, peace, unity, security, reconciliation, and national development. “Without partnerships with the media, governance gets complicated and challenging. We, therefore, extend open arms to our friends in the media community, both home and abroad.”

Mr. Piah believes that the Press Union of Liberia ought to do more, in terms of self-regulation and to minimize, if not eradicate, conflict with the government on the one hand, and the media and the people on the other. 

“We are volunteering our services also to help resolve the leadership impasse currently confronting the Press Union of Liberia,” Piah said. 

The President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate, Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, in a separate development, promised to address the well-being of staffers of the Liberian Senate.

The President Pro-Tempore’s promise was based on many concerns raised by staffers of the Liberian Senate in her first meeting with them since her election as Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate a little over one month ago. 

The concerns raised by the staffers include salary disparity, transportation, and an unconducive working environment, among others. 

According to Pro-Tempore Lawrence, the Senate has embarked on a series of measures aimed at addressing some of the issues.

She disclosed that the Liberian Senate has written the General Auditing Commission (GAC) to conduct a system and personnel audit to enable the Senate to place qualified staffers in positions that are commensurate with their qualifications. The Grand Bassa County Lawmaker also promised to include in the 2024 National Budget, an allotment for two buses to facilitate the transportation of staffers.