Did civil servants work for free in October?

Claim: A Facebook user has reported that the Liberian government stated all civil servants will work for free in October.

Verdict: Misleading! DUBAWA’s investigation found that the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), only announced a temporary delay in salary payments due to a “system upgrade.” As of October 29, 2025, the ministry confirmed that salary payments for employees of 31 ministries, agencies, and commissions have been disbursed, with additional disbursements ongoing. 

Full Text

On October 18, 2025, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) announced a temporary delay in salary payments to government employees due to a technical upgrade at its central data centre.

Following this announcement, several social media users began spreading misinformation regarding the delay.

Among them was Facebook user Torkpa Korkoryiza, who on October 20, 2025, alleged that all civil servants would not be paid for October.

In the post, he said:

“It’s now clear that all civil servants are working for free for the month of October. This is the Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. Republic.”

DUBAWA decided to investigate the claim as part of its commitment to combating misinformation and disinformation.

Verification

First, DUBAWA reached out to Torkpa Korkoryiza via Facebook Messenger to provide evidence supporting his claim, but he did not respond to the inquiry.

DUBAWA then reviewed the official Facebook page of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning for any statements related to the claim. No announcement indicated that the government would use salaries for construction projects.

Instead, two official press releases from the ministry contradicted the viral claim.

In its October 18, 2025, press release, the ministry announced a temporary delay in salary payments due to ongoing technical upgrades and maintenance at the central data centre. It added that salary processing for October was ongoing and expected to conclude by the first week of November.

In a second press release dated October 20, 2025, the ministry assured all government employees that it was working out modalities to ensure a majority of them would be paid by October 31.

“The MFDP is pleased to report that it has already disbursed to the commercial banks salary payments for employees of more than 31 GOL ministries, agencies, and commissions, and the disbursements of salary payments for several other GOL entities are underway. Depending on how quickly the commercial banks would credit the accounts of GOL employees, we expect that most employees of the GOL would have fully received their salaries by the end of the month (October 31, 2025).”

Conclusion

The claim that all civil servants will not be paid for October is misleading. Verified information from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning indicates that the delay was temporary and resulted from a system upgrade. Salary payments have already been disbursed to 31 government entities, and the additional expenses are ongoing.