MONROVIA, Oct. 28 -- Liberia's House of Representatives has ordered a sweeping review of salaries and benefits across government, days after a rare public disclosure of a senior official's pay reignited anger over the cost of running one of the world's poorest countries.

By Emmanuel Weedee-Conway

In a unanimous vote on Tuesday, the lower house of the national legislature instructed two of its committees, on Ways, Means and Finance and on Public Accounts, to examine the pay and perks of government officials and report back within two weeks. The motion was brought by Representative Alex S. Noah of Sinoe County.

Lawmakers argued that they are wrongly blamed for the country's swollen wage bill, while ministers and the heads of state-owned ...