Editorial: Labor allows scandal: A national betrayal of the clock by Minister Kruah

In a nation that fought to contain the increasing unemployment and thousands of trained young Liberians into the workforce, revelations that the Labor Minister Cooper Kruah, thousands of work permits to foreign citizens – has not only administered – not only administrative negligence, but a betrayal of public trust and national interest.

In the past few months, the Liberian Senate has tried to get answers from Minister Kruah, how and why Non-Liberer has given 8,000 work permits. These are not high -ranking executive jobs that require foreign specialist knowledge. These are jobs that are trained and equipped Liberians to fill our youth to our youth like drivers, carpenters and plumber – the professional institutions across the country.

However, Minister Kruah seems to either be able or explain why these positions have been outsourced to foreigners.

Minister Kruah's repeated phenomena in front of the Senate, each characterized by vague explanations and evasive answers, have only heated up public outrage. His justification – that the system of the Ministry of Labor does not record any job descriptions – borders on the absurdity.

How can a ministry that has issued approval with the regulation of the state's workforce without knowing which job the applicant will do?

The minister's claim that his government has inherited a faulty system is not a defense – it is a blatant approval of his failure to reform a broken process. And it is still more outrageous in this defective framework, while Liberian families have difficulty making rounds.

If, as he determines, 6,980 of the 8,000 permits for non-African nationals and a further 2,699 to non-E-Ecowas state members were granted, the problem is not only bureaucratic-it is systemic and deeply worrying.

We experience the deliberate erosion of occupational safety Liberia, as is anchored in the decent labor law of 2015 and the Liberianization Act, both of which should ensure that certain jobs remain the exclusive domain of the Liberians.

Section 6 of the decent labor law clearly stipulates that no foreigner should be given a work permit, provided that this is not based on proof of publications and certification that no qualified liberian is available. However, this protection seems to have been completely ignored.

If Minister Kruah cannot ensure the integrity of the systems under his control, he should step aside for someone who does. At this point in time, his persistent presence in office is a risk to the economic sovereignty of the country. The issuance of permits for informal and low -qualified jobs that are reserved for the Liberians in accordance with the law is not just negligence; It is a rough violation of the trust that President Joseph Boakai put in him.

This editorial would be a tear if he was not praised Senator Abraham Darius Dillon for his persistence and patriotic attitude to put this topic in the foreground. While others have chosen silence, Senator Dillon has shown an exemplary courage in defending the rights of ordinary Liberians.

His persistence in the demanding transparency and accountability is the type of leadership that this country urgently needs. He has proven that he is not only a senator, but an official in the truest sense.

In one of his passionate comments, Senator Dillon rightly noticed: “We cannot continue to invest in the training of our citizens, just so that they can find that foreigners fill the jobs for which they are qualified.”

This speaks to the heart of the problem. When Liberians see how their government actively undermines their employment opportunities, this not only creates economic despair, but also creates distrust in the institutions that they should protect them.

The Senate has granted Minister Kruah a last two-week grace period for the creation of the documents in which the job categories associated with these permits are presented. This should be the last expansion. If it fails again, it is absolutely necessary that the Senate took decisive measures, including taking into account self -confidence.

Liberians earn better. You do not deserve a Ministry of Labor that is fighting for you. The future of our workforce should not be sacrificed on the altar of incompetence, preference or foreign appeasement. It was time for the accountability obligation – not just promise.

Minister Kruah has to respond to his actions – or the Senate has to hold him accountable. The Liberian people observed.