Liberia dismisses 10 officials for abandoning Ebola fight

MONROVIA, Liberia – Liberia’s leader Sunday, September 14, said she had sacked 10 senior government officials who defied an order to return to the west African nation to lead the fight against the deadly Ebola outbreak.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf had told ministers to return within a week as part of a state-of-emergency announcement on August 6 to help fight “for the very survival of our state.”

Liberia has been hit hard by the Ebola epidemic, the worst in history, which has killed more than 2,400 people since it erupted earlier this year, according to World Health Organization.

In its latest breakdown on September 7, it the UN health agency said Liberia had recorded 1,137 deaths out of 2,081 cases, more than half of them in the previous three weeks.

“President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has dismissed 10 government officials with immediate effect,” her office said in a statement on Sunday.

“These government officials showed insensitivity to our national tragedy and disregard for authority.”

Among them was Victoria Sherman-Lang, the deputy minister for economic affairs at the ministry for justice and Wheatonia Dixon-Barnes, the deputy minister for administration and public safety at the ministry of justice.

Five members of various boards who had left the country without proper excuse have also been told their salaries and other benefits are forfeit until they return home, although they do not need direct presidential travel approval.

In August, the president announced that she had sacked ministers and senior government officials who defied an order to return to the west African nation but without giving further details. – Rappler.com