By Elbie Sebleh
MONROVIA: The Government of Liberia (GoL), through the Liberia Refugees Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) has begun the payment of the last group of 469 returnees from Ghana.
The payment which began on Saturday, September 14,2024, is being done at the Johnsonville Center.
The 469 include 288 children and 200 unskilled returnees at the various transit centers in the five regional counties.
Speaking at MICAT’s Special Press Briefing Friday, LRRRC Executive Director, Patrick Worzie, said this payment will complete the compensation process of the 1,539 Liberians repatriated by the government in May and June of this year.
“We want to thank President Joseph Boakai, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Information, the Liberia Broadcasting System and our partners for the support. With funding from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, we are about to end the task given by paying all returnees. We want to thank our returnees for their patience. This is how a responsible government can behave – we care about them,” Worzie said.
The Johnsonville Center payment started at 10 a.m in the presence of the Ministry of Finance representatives, partners and the media.
The pay team in Johnsonville is being led by the Liberia Refugees Repatriation and Resettlement Commission, Deputy Executive Director for Administration, Armah Karneh.
Speaking to reporters Saturday, Mr. Karneh said, all registered returnees at the Johnsonville Center will be paid within three days.
“The process has started as you can see – we are paying them as promised. We will be here for three days, Saturday through Monday,” Karneh said.
He added that each family head will receive US$300 while each dependent will receive US$225 as well.
The LRRRC Deputy Executive Director for Administration told reporters that payment will be made at the city halls in the five regional counties.
The counties include Maryland, Grand Gedeh, Montserrado, Bong and Grand Bassa.
“We are going to dispatch our pay teams to these counties to ensure that all returnees are paid in this new week,” he stated.
He called on all returnees to be at the various sites at the five regional centers across the country to receive their financial package.
Meanwhile, Mr. Karneh has refuted reports that LRRRC has squandered money intended for the compensation of the Returnees.
Recently, those believed to be returnees gathered at President Joseph Boakai residence and LRRRC office demanding payment of their compensation.
Many of them accused LRRRC officials of squandering their compensation thus delaying their payment.
Speaking to newsmen at the Johnsonville Center over the weekend, Mr. Karneh clarified that LRRRC is a responsible government entity and will not do anything on the contrary to undercut the repatriation process or strangulate the returnees.
“We are not deterred. We are not disappointed.” “This payment shows that we are doing the right thing. If we ate money, we couldn’t be doing payment by now.”
