The Joint Committee on Funding and Concessions and Transport of the Home of Representatives has ordered the suspension of all Liberia Site visitors Administration (LTM) operations, successfully returning full operational management to the Ministry of Transport.
By Kruah Thompson
Capitol Hill, August 1, 2025: This transfer comes after LTM failed to look earlier than lawmakers for an investigative listening to on Thursday, July 31, 2025.
The listening to was triggered by a petition from aggrieved workers of the Ministry of Transport and from business drivers, elevating considerations over the concession granted to LTM.
Not too long ago, greater than 200 workers of the Ministry of Transport marched to the Capitol on July 16, 2025, to submit a petition to Speaker Koon, urging legislative scrutiny of the 25-year LTM concession.
The petition highlighted considerations over legality, job losses (affecting no less than 265 ministry workers), and potential income losses exceeding US $275 million over the concession interval.
Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon formally obtained and tabled the petition on the ground, underneath the oversight of the Home’s Joint Committees on Concessions, that are empowered to evaluate and probe compliance with authorities concession agreements.
On Thursday, July 24, 2025, the Plenary of the Liberian Senate formally mandated its management to request that President Joseph Nyuma Boakai instantly halt the implementation of the Liberia Site visitors Administration Integrated (LTM-I) concession settlement.
4 days after the Senate listening to, on Monday, July 28, 2025, business drivers additionally staged a mass protest in opposition to what they described as inhumane remedy underneath the brand new settlement.
The protesters decried extreme ticketing and alleged extortion by LTM officers, claiming the corporate is exploiting drivers underneath the guise of site visitors enforcement.
Upon receiving the petition, the Joint Committee on Funding and Concessions and Transport of the Home of Representatives summoned the Liberia Site visitors Administration Inc. (LTM) and others.
However whereas all different summoned events honored the Committee’s invitation, LTM didn’t attend with out offering any written rationalization, delaying the progress of the investigation.
Consequently, the Joint Committee issued a “nonetheless order” suspending all LTM operations pending a full legislative evaluate of the concession settlement.
Within the meantime, the Ministry of Transport has been mandated to renew its full statutory duties, together with motorcar registration, issuance of driver’s licenses, and enforcement of all transportation-related rules in collaboration with the Liberia Nationwide Police.
The Chief Clerk of the Home has been instructed to formally talk the Committee’s selections to the related authorities. Moreover, the Inspector Basic of Police has been tasked with helping the Ministry of Transport in imposing Liberia’s motorcar and site visitors legal guidelines within the absence of LTM.
As well as, LTM and its authorized counsel have been summoned to look earlier than the Joint Committee on Monday to answer prices of contempt for repeated failure to adjust to legislative summons.
In the meantime, the Liberia Site visitors Administration Inc. (LTM) concession settlement was formally signed on September 11, 2018, between the Authorities of Liberia and LTM to modernize, digitize, and handle the nation’s transportation and site visitors techniques with a give attention to producing income, enhancing highway security, and decreasing corruption in site visitors enforcement.
It was ratified by the Legislature on December 21, 2018, and later publicly revealed in a handbill on January 7, 2019.
Though the deal was dormant for a time, on January 24, 2025, President Boakai formally endorsed and reaffirmed the settlement, and it was absolutely activated following a Supreme Courtroom ruling on Might 28, 2025, clearing the way in which for operations to proceed on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, underneath the Boakai administration.
