-Former Vice Pres., Taylor, Cries Out

Former First Lady and Vice President of Liberia, Jewel Howard-Taylor, seems to run out of patience with the Unity Party-led Government of President Joseph N. Boakai, for its apparent attempt to deny her duly entitled pension benefits.

Taylor, also a former Senator of Bong County, has formally written the Senate, petitioning the Body for the third time, asking it to ensure that she receives her pension benefits, immunities, and entitlements as required by the 2003 Pension Act.

The 2003 pension act, amongst other things, calls for the payment of half of what she was earning while in active service.

Madam Taylor said for more than two and a half years after leaving office in January 2024, she has not received any benefit although she has met all legal requirements.

In her letter to Senate President Pro-Tempore, Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence and members of the Legislature, Howard-Taylor emphasized that it is not about just benefits, but about fairness and recognition of her decades of public service.

Taylor underscored her roles as First Lady; a two-term Senator for Bong County, Senate Pro-Tempore, and Liberia’s first elected female Vice President.

She is asking the Senate to use its oversight authority to ensure her benefits are processed and paid without further delay, urging that the matter be resolved with urgency, fairness, and finality. So far, there has been no official response  from the Senate’s  leadership.