By Kennedy Koloh
LPR Correspondent In River Cess County, RL.
The National Port Authority (NPA) refuted media reports that more than 175 employees are expected to be redundant soon by the authority.
According to NPA Managing Director who his a son of River Cess County Bill Twehway, said the management of the port has no intention to redundant any employee, but was instead planning to create more employment opportunities for Liberians.
Twehway made the statement Saturday when he launched the ‘Rising Republic’ Magazine which is a Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) publication held at the party’s headquarters in Congo Town outside Monrovia.
He noted that for the past six months, some names on the NPA payrolls are not actual persons present with the entity because they have not been seen in the various departments of the entity.
Tweahway described these names as “ghost names” on the payrolls and said the management intends to clean up these names to employ actual persons rather than “ghosts”.
Managing Director Twehway disclosed that under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf‘s administration, the shipping lines requested certain fees for containers and as a result, more containers were abandoned due to extra fees.
But, he said, the management is asking the owners to come and clear their containers from the port without the extra fees which were imposed by the former regime.
He noted that the government under President George Manneh Weah has no intention to create any hardship for the Liberian people, but will seek to improve their current living standard under the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development for all Liberians and not few.
He asserted that beginning April 1, 2019, the management of NPA will abolish a fee called “demolish fee” for a container, noting that government is sensitive to the plight of ordinary Liberians and improving their status is a priority.
Director Twehway emphasized that from now on the port will be operating on three shifts to allow containers to leave the port as soon as possible and pointed out that taking containers at night is safer than during the day when vehicular traffic is congested.
