The City Government of Paynesville has reacted to Hot Pepper’s November 8, 2022 publication under the caption, “Paynesville City Mayor Undermines US Corruption Fight? – Accused of Self Enrichment, Lawlessness, Lack of Integrity”.
The Paynesville City Corporation, in a press release issued on Wednesday, November 9, 2022, clarified that Mayor E. Pam Belcher-Taylor has never been involved in any act that seeks to undermine the fight against corruption in Liberia, or engaged in self enrichment, lawlessness and lack of integrity as claimed by the Hot Pepper’s November 8, 2022 publication.
According to the release, Mayor Taylor is an anti-corruption campaigner who has always fought against corruption-related activities, and is a respecter of the rule of law and possesses a high degree of integrity.
“This is evident by the multiple international and local integrity institutions, including the World Bank, European Union, Cities Alliance, Empowerment Squared and the Rotary Club of Monrovia, among others, currently working with the PCC,” the PCC press release said.
The release noted that PCC, under the leadership of Mayor Taylor, has never dismissed any employee without following the due process, as it is been falsely stated by Mr. Kolubah Amos Yogiee, a former employee of the Paynesville City Corporation (PCC).
The PCC Release noted that, contrary to Yogiee’s claim, he (Yogiee) was dismissed for gross misconduct (a violation of Section 7.2d of the PCC Handbook) after multiple verbal, written warnings and suspension, and subsequent investigation by the management of the Paynesville City Corporation.
The PCC release further noted that Mayor Taylor has never had any personal interaction with Yogiee since his dismissal, contrary to his claim that Mayor Taylor has boasted that no one can do anything to her, not even the international community.
The Paynesville City Corporation described the assertion of Yogiee as a smear campaign by a former employee who was dismissed due to his constant misconduct and gross disrespect, exhibited while on job.
“On May 6, 2015, Yogiee was issued a warning letter by former Mayor Cyvette Gibson for insulting the Deputy Director of Police. On April 6, 2016, Yogiee was issued a warning letter for constantly refusing to follow HR procedures by the HR Director. On September 26, 2018, Yorgiee was issued a suspension letter for spreading misinformation about the corporation to a friend of his. On September 12, 2019, Yogiee was verbally warned by the Mayor for his misconduct toward her, which Yogiee apologized for. On November 11, 2019, Yogiee was warned for grossly disrespecting the Deputy HR Director. On September 23, 2021, Yogiee was warned following a complaint from the City Manager, Stanley Zahn, about his gross disrespect toward him. After a series of warnings and suspension, Yogiee was told that any other complaint of misconduct will lead to his dismissal. On January 24, 2022, Yogiee came to the HR Office to inquired about his June 2021 salary, and it was explained to him that the request for his salary was prepared for payment. Yorgiee decided to not respect the HR and started raising his voice, which alerted the COS to come in to ascertain why the noise again,. Yogiee grossly disrespected the Chief of Office Staff who came to intervene,” the release added.
The PCC release further disclosed that Yogiee was fully paid for all of the months he had worked for at the Paynesville City Corporation, contrary to his assertion that the Corporation owes him.
Following his dismissal, PCC’s complaint was taken to the Ministry of Labor by Yogiee, and the PCC participated in the ministry’s hearing process, presided over by the Assistant Minister for Manpower Planning and Human Resources Development, Ruth Baryogar.
The PCC however was not satisfied with the manner in which the case was being handled by Assistant Minister Baryogar, and therefore took exception to the ruling of Minister Baryogar, in which she ruled in favor of Kolubah Amos Yogiee.
PCC objected to the ruling and wrote Labor Minister, Cllr. Charles H. Gibson, on July 6, 2022. In the communication, Mayor E. Pam Belcher-Taylor informed Minister Gibson about the ruling of Minister Baryogar on July 4, 2022 and asked for his intervention.
Here is Mayor Taylor exact words as stated in the communication to Minister Gibson: “A former employee of the Paynesville City Corporation (PCC), Mr. Kolubah Amos Yogiee, was terminated for cause (gross insubordination) effective January 31, 2022. Mr. Yogiee was employed with a gross salary of $ 1,080.00 United States Dollars (USD) monthly. Of said amount, the Government of Liberia paid $300.00 USD and the Paynesville City Corporation paid $780.00 USD monthly. On March 5, 2021, Mr. Yogiee was seconded to the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of the Cheesemanburg Landfill and Urban Sanitation (CLUS) Project. Subsequently, Mr. Yogiee signed a one-year contract with the PIU of a gross salary of $700.00 United States dollars. The City Corporation was obligated under the contract agreement to settle the balance of $80.00 USD due Mr. Yogiee.
“Honorable Minister, Mr. Yogiee filed a formal complaint with the Ministry of Labor on April 14, 2021 claiming ‘Unlawful Dismissal’. The Corporation has been represented on numerous occasions by her Legal Counsel, Human Resource Director and Comptroller, as requested by Assistant Minister Ruth Baryogar.
“My office received a communication dated July 4, 2022 from Assistant Minister Baryogar alleging “Wrongful Dismissal” of Mr. Yogiee. Minister Gibson, I assure you Mr. Amos Yoigee was in violation of the Paynesville City Corporation’s Handbook. My office is kindly requesting your timely intervention into Asst. Minister Baryogar’s decision. Please find the attached relevant documents as it relates to said case.”
Meanwhile, the PCC release wonders why the Hot Pepper reporter would choose to publish an interview conducted on September 7, 2022 concerning salary delay at the PCC on November 8, 2022, exactly two months after.
This is the exact words of the PCC Public Relations Officer: “I will say to you the City Corporation is challenged. It is true that we owe some of our employees, not all of them because there are some employees here who are 100% on government payroll, which has been regular. There are some who are partially on government’s salary and that of Paynesville City Corporation (PCC), and some 100% on PCC Payroll, so we acknowledge. It is a great concern, and the management regrets the situation. The Comptroller and HR of PCC are currently engaging with partners and also national government to remedy this situation. We are not happy about this – to say the Mayor is sitting and is not doing anything.”
According to the release, “Since the conduct of the interview, PCC has regularized the payment of casual workers, and has significantly reduced the arrears of employees to three months. Between the spaces of two months the Hot Pepper Newspaper reporter failed to ask for update but chose to report based on the previous interview.”