-Dillon Brands Kruah’s Permit Defense
By: G Bennie Bravo Johnson, I
Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon has sharply responded to Labor Minister Cllr. Cooper W. Kruah’s recent allegations, which suggest Dillon’s persistent advocacy on work permits stems from personal interest. The Senator dismissed the Minister’s claims as “childish and dangerous politics.”
Speaking on a local talk show in Monrovia on Monday, July 7, 2025, Senator Dillon accused Minister Kruah of deliberately violating the Decent Work Act by awarding jobs meant for Liberians to foreign nationals. He emphasized that he and others would continue pushing for private sector jobs to be reserved for qualified Liberians.
“In closing on the labor issues, Minister Kruah gives an appearance that Senator Dillon is personally attacking him because he is from Nimba County. I want to make this very clear here. This is not only childish but a dangerous politic he needs to stop. You know I confirmed the Minister of Labor. In fact, I championed his confirmation. During his confirmation hearing, which the video evidence is on my Facebook page, I asked him about how are we going to get jobs for Liberians. He said that as Minister of Labor, he will ensure that no work permit will be issued for jobs that Liberians are available and qualified for. During that hearing, I told him that I would call him back after six months to get an update. Now that I am doing my oversight responsibility, he sees it as an attack,” Senator Dillon stated.
Providing an update on Minister Kruah’s recent appearance before the Senate, Dillon argued that the Minister failed to cooperate honestly with lawmakers. According to him, Kruah was disrespectful during the hearing and failed to disclose the job categories for which permits were issued to foreigners.
Dillon revealed that the Minister had issued over ten thousand work permits to non-Liberians. When asked to submit the list to the Senate, Kruah reportedly delayed for over a month. “This indicates a sinister plan,” Dillon said, adding that the Ministry issued those permits without conducting due diligence.
“Now, the Senate is going to insist that no active work permit will be renewed. The current active work permits can’t be revoked because they’re already contractual. Once we receive the work permit fees, it’s a contract. The only way it can be revoked or expire before its timeline is when you deceive the country—where a person took a plumber’s work permit but is doing a manager’s job. All of the ten thousand work permits are jobs that Liberians can do. It was shown and justified by the Civil Service boss,” Dillon added.
He further stated that when he voted to confirm Minister Kruah, tribal identity was not a factor. “He was not a Bassa-man, neither Kru. But when I asked him how the job is going, he’s now talking about tribe.”
Dillon argued that poor job performance should not be racialized or politicized. “Now, his poor performance on the job should not be used as Dillon is running after Nimba people. I confirmed Post Minister from Nimba and all those from Nimba nominated by President Joseph N. Boakai. Whether you are from the Rescue Mission or not, our oversight will have to work. When we go deeper into these labor-related issues, Cooper Kruah will not be Minister before the close of today. Kruah is giving work permits on waiver, which violates the law. I told the Senate to pass a vote of no confidence in the Minister when he said he inherited seven thousand work permits. Now he added it to ten thousand. There is no active work permit from the Weah administration because the permits ended.”
The Senator warned against the misuse of work permit fees to undermine Liberian employment, calling it a serious problem. “He shouldn’t use one thousand United States dollar work permit fees to deprive Liberians of jobs,” Dillon warned. “Where in the Budget Law or line does it tell the Minister to go and raise ten million from work permits? There are other avenues to raise money. We want to give our people equal pay for equal work.”
Referring to mining companies, he added: “Western Cluster and Bea Mountain—five months ago, the Minister of Labor told the Senate at a public hearing that the company had one hundred drivers operating heavy-duty equipment. And fifty-five are non-Liberian while forty-five are Liberian. The Minister told us that there were no Liberians to operate the equipment, which is why they weren’t awarded the entire job. Now, the pay grade between Liberians and foreigners is very far apart, and inequality is high.”
Dillon concluded by reiterating that his advocacy is rooted in law and duty to the Liberian people. He reminded the public that Chapter 45 of the Decent Work Act provides a clear process that prioritizes Liberians for employment. The law requires that jobs be advertised and shown to be unavailable to qualified Liberians before work permits are granted to foreigners, and even then, such permits are valid only for one year.
“Most times, our people say the government and lawmakers are not doing anything for them. It’s because they are not working and can’t find jobs. We create the environment for the jobs, and then the very government—any branch—gives the jobs away. This appears to our people as though we are not creating jobs,” Dillon said.
