The Chairman of the Economics Department of the William V.S. Tubman High School, Johnny Dukuly Hopkins, is pleading with the Government of Liberia (GOL) to consider augmenting the salaries of civil servants in the 2023 national budget.
Hopkins said the harsh economic condition in Liberia requires a substantial increase of the monthly income of every employee that it may commensurate with the high cost of basic commodities in the country.
The veteran economist was speaking during the close-of-the-year program of the Forum for Community Engagement (FORCE) at its headquarters at the corner of Broad and Gurley streets, where he addressed a number of crucial national issues ranging from bad economic policy, massive corruption, to the uncertain political condition in the country.
According to Hopkins, the government, especially the National Legislature, needs to do the most appropriate thing now as it relates to improving the living standard of the ordinary people, and that anything short of this means the future of the country will remain bleak as many families will not be able to cater to their children’s needs.
Hopkins recounted that some time in September 2022 the price of a bag of rice went up, thus affecting the prices of other basic commodities, but at the end of the negotiation with rice importers there has been a little decrease; however, the prices of basic consumer commodities still remain huge and unbearable for many civil servants.
Hopkins said it was time that members of the National Legislature, being the first branch of government and by extension the direct representation of the people, put the interest of the people above all else, particularly by ensuring that civil servants receive increment in their salaries in the national budget.
Hopkins said the greatest pride of every individual, especially civil servants, is the ability to take care of his family, and that pride rests with substantial earning power or income which can be made possible through sound economic policy put in place by a responsible government which prioritizes the livelihood of the people.
The famous and practical Economics instructor said anything short of this call for the National Legislature to increase the monthly wages of civil servants in the national budget this year will cause more harm than the failure to build Johnson Street or the Bali Island because building the human mind is the sole responsibility of the family.
Hopkins, who is the senior policy advisor to the Forum for Community Engagement, said the sooner the government realizes that building the mind is the greatest advantage or asset for rapid transformation and development the better the footing of the Liberian society, and the more appreciated will these material developments become in the eyes of the citizens.