MONROVIA — An investigation carried out by Entrance Web page Africa has uncovered mounting tensions surrounding the Ministry of Labour’s overseas employee allow modernization undertaking, with critical questions rising about asset administration, contractual compliance, and monetary accountability.
On the heart of the dispute is ZIP Options, a subcontracted agency now engaged in a public media marketing campaign as its partnership with the undertaking’s principal contractor unravels.
In line with paperwork reviewed and insider accounts obtained throughout the investigation, what started in 2021 as a promising initiative to modernize Liberia’s overseas employee allow system has deteriorated right into a contentious and extremely public fallout.
The dispute includes ZIP Options and its Chief Government Officer, Aminata Bangura, whose firm was engaged to carry out particular enforcement-related duties underneath a broader contractual framework.
The principal contractor awarded the Ministry of Labour undertaking in 2021 was CETIS Liberia, a European-backed expertise agency tasked with financing, designing, deploying, and managing the digital work allow infrastructure.
CETIS Liberia assumed full accountability for system growth, {hardware} and software program set up, biometric integration, workers coaching, automobile procurement, and general technical operations.
ZIP Options, which was established in Liberia in the identical yr the contract was awarded, was introduced in strictly as a subcontractor. Contractual information reviewed point out that ZIP Options was neither the lead contractor nor the investor and didn’t personal the undertaking infrastructure. As an alternative, its mandate was restricted to enforcement coordination and associated operational help.
Nonetheless, sources acquainted with the undertaking report that inside the first yr, disagreements started to floor. These disputes reportedly centered on technical capability, coordination challenges, implementation requirements, and compliance procedures.
Insiders disclosed that CETIS Liberia launched further inner management measures after figuring out operational setbacks and regulatory dangers. These corrective mechanisms, in accordance with a number of sources, contributed to escalating tensions between the 2 firms.
One of the critical allegations now underneath scrutiny includes undertaking autos, motorbikes, and technical tools financed fully by CETIS Liberia. Sources confirmed that a number of autos assigned strictly for undertaking operations had been transported throughout the Sierra Leone border with out prior authorization, documented oversight, or formal reporting.
The belongings in query had been procured as a part of the investor-funded operational framework and weren’t designated for private use.
People near the matter acknowledged that makes an attempt to implement monitoring techniques and asset verification protocols had been met with resistance. Subsequently, some autos and tools had been reportedly declared lacking, broken, or in any other case unaccounted for, intensifying calls for for transparency and accountability.
Monetary paperwork examined throughout the investigation point out that CETIS Liberia funded the entire operational construction of the undertaking. This included full system growth, software program engineering, {hardware} infrastructure, biometric expertise, workers coaching applications, autos, motorbikes, and technical deployment.
Contractual agreements reviewed present that ZIP Options didn’t finance the system, didn’t assemble the technical platform, and didn’t retain possession rights over the undertaking infrastructure.
Regardless of the outlined subcontracting association, sources allege that ZIP Options exercised operational affect past its contractual scope. This alleged growth of management reportedly generated friction over asset administration, enforcement oversight, reporting obligations, and compliance requirements.
In September 2025, a Ministry of Labour efficiency evaluation reportedly recognized vital deficiencies in enforcement coordination and reporting capabilities, obligations that fell inside the subcontractor’s assigned mandate. The evaluation additionally raised issues relating to incomplete monetary documentation and gaps in audit reporting.
In line with people with information of the overview, requests for complete audited monetary information weren’t totally happy. For a European-regulated investor, such compliance shortcomings carry substantial authorized and reputational dangers. Sources point out that belief between the events deteriorated quickly as soon as these issues surfaced, in the end accelerating discussions about terminating the partnership.
As termination deliberations intensified, ZIP Options initiated a public media marketing campaign, portraying itself as a sufferer of political interference and contractual injustice. Nonetheless, people acquainted with the dispute keep that the disagreement is rooted in contractual documentation, asset accountability, and monetary transparency, relatively than political persecution.
One supply near the matter emphasised that the problem facilities on efficiency requirements and contractual obligations. One other particular person concerned within the undertaking famous that disputes of this nature are usually resolved by formal authorized and arbitration mechanisms, relatively than by public advocacy campaigns.
Additional background inquiries reveal that this isn’t the primary high-profile enterprise dispute involving Aminata Bangura.
Studies point out prior partnership conflicts linked to logistics and port-related operations, together with actions related to GTMS on the Freeport of Monrovia. Moreover, Bangura is reportedly engaged in ongoing authorized disputes involving enterprise associates and a former Minister of Labour.
Authorized consultants consulted throughout the investigation careworn that advanced contractual disputes involving overseas funding, cross-border asset motion, and monetary compliance are in the end decided by documentary proof and judicial overview. They underscored that asset monitoring, audit trails, and contractual clauses will possible kind the inspiration of any authorized proceedings that observe.
Because the matter strikes nearer to formal adjudication, observers observe that the central points stay contractual efficiency, asset accountability, and monetary transparency. Whereas public statements proceed to flow into, the decision of the Ministry of Labour modernization undertaking dispute is anticipated to rely upon proof introduced earlier than the suitable authorized authorities.
