Monrovia - Grand Bassa County Superintendent, Mrs. Julia Duncan Cassell has described as incorrect reports her inclusion on the supplementary payroll of the Liberia Agriculture Company (LAC) operating in the county.

Mrs. Cassell said at no time had she received a cent from LAC or has been placed on the payroll of the company.

In a press release issued on the matter, Superintendent Cassell reiterated that the interest of the citizens of Grand Bassa County is paramount and that her administration will never betray their trust and will do all it can to seek and protect their wellbeing.

She said if LAC was contemplating putting local authorities of the county on their payroll, it has not been brought to her knowledge; adding, “Such an initiative would have the propensity to compromise and tarnish the image of local officials and therefore would be discouraged by my administration.”

Superintendent Cassell, in her release said the breakdown of the salary structure for the local government officials as mentioned in the report was “imaginative, tele-guided and artificial”. She said that the time has passé when people tarnished the reputation of innocent people for political gain, and got away with it. She reminded those with such devilish deportment to change their minds and attitude to more substantive issues on national development.

She has vowed to work with all stakeholders in Grand Bassa County for the improvement of the people’s livelihood despite the unfair misinformation campaign being waged against her hardworking administration.

Meanwhile, a source told FrontPageAfrica that the tradition of government officials being on the payroll of LAC nothing new. “This is an aged old tradition that has just been exposed,” he said; adding, “What I suspect they’ll do now is become very discreet in their transactions.

Our source said it’s not only with LAC that this has been happening; but most companies, concessions and even business houses around the country provide subsistence to government officials working in their spheres of operation for protection.

The source challenged LAC to make available its books for auditors to verify and see whether or not these documents exposed are lies or not as claimed by those accused.