Liberia: Gongloe Questions Boakai's Salary

What the report says

Veteran Liberian human rights lawyer Cllr. Tiawan S. Gongloe has asked President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to publicly disclose his official salary and explain how a reported 40% voluntary pay reduction is being carried out. The letter, written in Monrovia and reported by The New Dawn through AllAfrica, says the issue is about transparency and the public’s right to know how the president is compensated.

Gongloe argues that the reduction raises legal and constitutional questions. He cites Liberia’s Constitution, including a provision saying the salaries of the president and vice president are fixed by the Legislature and cannot be increased or reduced during their term, as well as a right-to-information clause that he says supports public disclosure. He also asks whether the reduction applies to the office’s legally established salary or only to the amount Boakai personally keeps.

In the letter, Gongloe poses four specific questions: what salary the Legislature set, what Boakai’s gross annual salary was when he took office, how much he now receives after the reduction, and how the arrangement fits with the constitution. The report says the exchange has renewed attention on presidential compensation and on how Liberia applies constitutional rules to public salaries. More broadly, the case reflects continuing debates in many countries about government transparency, public spending and the handling of top officials’ pay.