By Ramsey N Singbeh Jr
Email: director@news.throngtalk.com
Contact: +231772641146 / 880147358
Responding to allegations of bad leadership and its negative impacts on the entity and workers, levied against him by workers of the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS), the director general of the institution who sees the workers’ move as a fight has vowed to fight with everything he owns in him.
Mr. Eugene Fahngon made the statement on Friday January 17, 2025 at LBS during an organized forum by him intended to address the workers’ accusations against him presented through a press conference at the same station on Thursday January 16, 2025.
The State Broadcaster Head, while addressing the complaints of the workers which was channeled through the workers union leadership outlined in ten (10) counts, remarked: “This is my struggle and this is my fight and I will fight with everything I own in me, LBS money will be for LBS and LBS will never ever be the same.”
It can be recalled that workers alleged a lot of things with key among them being itemized into ten (10) separate counts, a document in which they also describe the ELBC Director General’s Leadership as “abusive, manipulative and dysfunctional leadership style.”
In their counts, they accused him of the unilateral suspension of all benefits for employees and other staff of LBS, as spelled out in the System’s Human Resource Manual for workers.
Another thing is alleged autocratic and authoritarian behavior, coupled with his lack of understanding and empathy for staff of LBS, which have led to the alleged creation of a hostile working atmosphere at the national broadcaster.
The workers say the LBS Head arbitrarily and illegally dismissed Mr. Peter Clinton, an employee of the operations department.
They also lamented the incrimination of employees without evidence, largely based on false allegations, which sometimes leads to heavy-handed administrative actions to the detriment of workers.
In counts five, six and seven, the workers’ accusations are explained: “Mr. Fahngon’s constant interference into LBS Workers Union’s matters, especially regarding the operations of the worker’s canteen. Selective application of the LBS HR Manual to the detriment of LBS workers. Constantly issuing threats and targeting for dismissal, employees and contractors assigned with his colleagues in Senior Management (Deputy Director General) positions, largely on suspicion of their alleged disagreement with Mr. Fahngon over policy matters.”
According to them, he abolished the year-end bonus to workers (widely referred to by staffers and past management teams as “13th Month”), based on personal preference or choice rather than any objective reasoning or logic.
In continuation, the LBS Director General’s failure to provide insurance for workers after making empty promises to do so in less than four months’ time in collaboration with the LBS Workers Union’s leadership is another point.
Count ten (10) reads: “Using as his reliance, a draconian instrument, Decree 88 A, to suppress free speech and enforce his unethical and abusive leadership decisions at LBS.”
The workers furthered in their claims that Mr. Fahngon has remained adamant to their recommendations meant to improve things at the station.
They stated that they are even more disappointed because when Mr. Fahngon first took over as Director General of LBS, he made employees of the system to believe that they were sitting on a gold mine but they were being enslaved and that he had come to change the narratives for the better.
The press statement also noted that when Mr. Fahngon told them from the onset that the station will never be the same, he meant retrogression because even the Christmas party for children has been cancelled under his watch.
They spoke that Mr. Fahngon does not care about the workers’ well-being but raising his weekly allowance to one thousand five hundred United States Dollars (1,500 USD) from seven hundred and fifty United States Dolars (750 USD).
They demanded the following actions to be taken by Mr. Fahngon within seventy-two (72) hours including the restoration of all benefits of the workers, as enshrined within the HR Manual of LBS, that Mr. Fahngon immediately rescinds from intimidating workers of LBS to ensure labor harmony, that Mr. Fahngon commits himself to ceasing or completely stopping the targeting and threatening with dismissal, employees and contractors and working with his colleagues in top management, who differ with him on policy issues.
They want him to stay clear of all matters that have to do with LBS workers managing the institution’s canteen because long before he became Director General, the canteen has always been the workers’ center;
They demand with immediate effect, the reinstatement of Mr. Peter Clinton, whom they claimed he allegedly dismissed arbitrarily and illegally and that Mr. Fahngon makes a commitment that he will stop the intimidation and molestation of workers and that he will, going forward, allow all workers to freely speak and do their jobs freely and peacefully.
In response, LBS DG, Eugene Fahngon said he met about twenty-two (22) contractors including the correspondents when he assumed.
He explained that LBS Officer In Charge told him the workforce was about one hundred and thirty (130) workers plus the appointees totaling approximately one hundred and forty-five (145).
He stated that government is responsible to pay LBS Salaries according to section four (4) of the act that created the entity.
According to him, the Civil Servant Agency or CSA and the Ministry of Finance are the determiners of who takes what at ELBC as salary.
Mr. Fahngon denied having access to the payroll saying he does not play with the workers’ money and their payroll.
Many individuals, he noted have worked with the entity in separate years of two (2), three (3) etc without being paid.
He boasted about having ninety-four contractors, paying each of them around fifteen thousand Liberia Dollars (15,000 LD) and he did not go out to look for workers elsewhere.
He said he took over March 22, 2024 and inherited sixty-six thousand, five hundred and seventy one United States Dollars (66,571 USD) and six million, four hundred and sixty-eight thousand, five hundred and eighty-six dollars, sixty-six cents Liberian Dollars (6,468,586.66 LD).
He maintained that he met one bus, one jeep instead of the one bus and two jeeps.
He also bragged that his administration now has in the account twelve million eight hundred and seventy four thousand, twenty dollars and forty-five cents (12, 874, 20.45 LD) and ninety-six thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight dollars and sixty-four (96, 778. 64 USD) and added that he paid everyone and owes no one a dime at the station.
Another achievement according to him is that the offices of the workers are aired cooled as he has further issued safety jackets, radio and a lot of materials to enhance the work at the station. He denied taking seven hundred and fifty United States Dollars (750 USD) weekly allowance that was increased to ne thousand five hundred United States Dollars (1500 USD).
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