{Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf fired 10 government officials for disobeying an order to return to the Ebola-stricken country after foreign trips, marking the second such dismissal in less than a month. }
The officials fired “showed insensitivity to our national tragedy and disregard for authority,” according to a statement from her office dated Sept. 13. “Those who were out of the country without an excuse” had been told to return, her office said.
The Ebola outbreak has claimed more than 1,200 lives in Liberia and threatens to disrupt the nation’s vital farming industry as the economy has tipped into recession. Johnson-Sirleaf has appealed to President Barack Obama for help in controlling the disease, warning that without foreign assistance Liberia is at risk of being overwhelmed.
On Aug. 26, Johnson-Sirleaf sacked several ministers and senior government workers traveling overseas who flouted an order to end their foreign trips.
Liberia, on West Africa’s Atlantic coast, is the worst-hit of four countries in the region that have recorded cases of Ebola. The virus killed 1,236 people in Liberia as of Sept. 9, the Health Ministry said, and the World Health Organization warned on Sept. 8 there was a risk of “many thousands” of new cases in the country by the end of the month.
20,000 People
The WHO said more than 20,000 people may be infected with Ebola before the outbreak in West Africa is controlled, and curbing the epidemic will cost at least $490 million.
Liberia has fallen into a recession and the government needs to cut spending as the virus takes its toll on business, Finance Minister Amara Konneh said on Sept. 12.
The International Monetary Fund cut its expansion forecast for Liberia’s economy to 2.5 percent this year from a previous estimate of 5.9 percent, spokesman Ismaila Dieng said on Sept. 11.
Ebola has also killed hundreds of people in Guinea and Sierra Leone, which border Liberia. A fourth doctor died of the virus in neighboring Sierra Leone late on Sept. 13 after efforts to move her abroad for treatment failed, the Associated Press reported, citing the country’s Chief Medical Officer Brima Kargbo.
Among the most recently dismissed Liberian officials are Wheatonia Dixon-Barnes, deputy minister for administration and public safety; and Victoria Sherman-Lang, deputy justice minister for economic affairs, according to the statement from the president’s office.
Eight junior officials currently out of the country have also been told they won’t be paid until they return to Liberia.
They “will forfeit all compensation until they return home to join in the fight against the Ebola virus disease,” the presidency said.
Bloomberg
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