President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has paid tribute to 150 employees of the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs who are about to go on retirement after their long service. The tribute was paid at a Retirement Recognition Program held today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Speaking on behalf of the retirees, Mr. Johnson Scott thanked the Ministry for the recognition and said they had worked for many years, but had never expected such financial benefits and an honoring program of such magnitude. President Johnson-Sirleaf gave special bonuses to Mr. E. Wah Valentine, Richard Carter, Samuel Matardi, Samuel McCauley, Alfred Togba and Charles Zulu, all of whom served the Ministry for more than 50 years.

Both Acting Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Dr. Edward McClain and Assistant Chief of Staff for Human Resource Mrs. Thelma Johnson thanked the retirees and said their efforts were greatly appreciated.

For his part, Civil Service Agency Director General Dr. William Allen explained the pension scheme to the retirees and described the program embarked upon by the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs as a model worthy of emulation. He referred to the President as ‘a key advocate of pensioners’ and added that she was gracious enough to have added bonuses on what was financially allocated for each retiree. He further challenged them to know what their benefits are under the law. Dr. Allen further assured that the civil service reform will continue and added that the pension scheme will be looked at to see how it can be improved.

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Source: Government of Liberia