“So, for argument’s sake, if it is about any wrongdoing by the Board of Commissioners of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA), why is it that it has become a war against one person, Patrick Honnah?” a former Commissioner of the LTA asked.
In recent days, there have been incessant barrages of verbal and cyber-attacks mainly directed towards one the Commissioners of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA), Mr. Patrick Honnah, over allegations of astronomical salaries and benefits being paid to acting commissioners of the regulatory entity.
Mounting criticism and condemnations, coming mainly from key members of the immediate past Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) administration and some supporters of the current administration, have emerged in the last couple of days, accusing members of the LTA board, interestingly, with emphasis on the name of Commissioner Patrick Honnah of receiving US$15,000 as monthly salary.
Several media institutions and opposition politicians, claimed “a leaked payroll of the LTA,” reveals that Commissioners of the entity receive a total of US$ 15,449 each in salary and allowances per month.
According to these reports, a breakdown of the LTA Commissioners’ monthly earnings shows that each Commissioner takes a monthly salary and allowances of US$15,449, including basic salary, US$7,861, transportation, US$1,572, housing allowance, US$1,200, generator gas US$3,622, operational gas (200 gallons), US$966, and scratch cards, US$300.
But speaking on the matter under condition of anonymity on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, an hour before Commissioner Patrick Honnah’s radio appearance, a former commissioner of the LTA described these wild allegations as false, misleading and politically calculated, particularly by those who seek to score a political goal by using the name of Commissioner Honnah, a key member and crusader for President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s Rescue mantra.
The former LTA Commissioner who boasted about his loyalty and support for former President George Weah and the CDC, insisted that his political difference with Commissioner Patrick Honnah and the Unity Party is not enough reason why he should spew or join in spreading misleading information about a public entity that he served with commitment and dedication to the best of his knowledge and ability.
“I am not a Unity Party person and I don’t even wish to be. I support former President Weah and the CDC, and I have no regret for my political choice, nor do I have any regret or malice for anyone for my departure from public service, particularly from the LTA. I, therefore, will do nothing to participate in spreading falsehood, something I didn’t like when I was in similar position and situation,” the former LTA Commissioner maintained.
He wondered how people could hold a three month old acting board of commissioners responsible for making or changing all of the rules and policies of the LTA, especially when these accusations are mostly coming from major actors in the immediate past administration.
Meanwhile, appearing for a joint interview with Truth FM and Joy FM, relayed and/or broadcast live by several online news platforms on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, Commissioner Patrick Honnah, one of the members of the current Board of Commissioners of the LTA, dismissed the US$15,000 salary allegations and challenged anyone to prove on the record that he, as commissioner of the LTA, makes US$15,000 as it’s being paraded in the public.
Commissioner Honnah also denied having a luxury assigned vehicle as it’s also being alleged, daring those making the allegations to post the photo of the “assigned vehicle.” He also dared his critics to establish if he has ever had an “assigned vehicle.”
In rubbishing the US$15,000 salary allegation, Mr. Honnah displayed his August, 2024 pay record which reflects US$4952. This figure was loudly confirmed by the hosts (interviewers) of the show to be true.
Commissioner Honnah emphasized, with a public challenge to his critics, that not a single dime has been added to the salaries of the current LTA Board of Commissioners since they came to office in May, 2024 (three months ago). He clarified further that the gas allotment in question is an allotment to departments and not necessarily to individual commissioners as being portrayed.
Honnah described as remarkable, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s mandate to the Bureau of State Enterprise to carry out a full review of salary and benefit structures of all state-owned enterprises, aligning with the ARREST AGENDA of the Rescue Mission.
He described one of the trumpeters of the alleged US$15,000 salary allegation, former Representative Acarous Moses Gray, as a jobless man who is seeking relevance at the expense of other people’s characters, attempting to prove that actors in the current administration are guilty of the same ills and deliberate misconduct of the CDC administration. This, he said, the Liberian people will not fall for, because the truth will come out, and whoever seeks to mislead the public will not succeed.
