Liberia: FPA Releases Government Performance Report of State-owned Enterprises

2026 OUTLOOK: As Liberia enters 2026 the Nationwide Street Fund stands at a pivotal second. Rising income collections present an encouraging basis for elevated funding in upkeep and rehabilitation. If projections maintain, 2026 may turn into the yr when the Fund begins to pursue multi-year financing methods able to tackling the nation’s most persistent infrastructure deficits.

The anticipated completion of the Monitoring and Analysis framework will rework the federal government’s capacity to trace efficiency, diagnose delays, and measure long-term outcomes. The database enhancements initiated in the course of the Nationwide Tour will assist information future decision-making and strengthen planning accuracy.

Neighborhood-based upkeep packages are more likely to develop, offering employment whereas preserving street performance. The enforcement of axle load laws is predicted to accentuate, particularly as chubby autos proceed to pose threats to street sturdiness. Stronger enforcement won’t solely defend the community but additionally assist maintain income flows.

The Fund’s worldwide engagement is predicted to deepen following its participation in transportation conferences and regional street upkeep associations. These partnerships open pathways for technical cooperation, peer studying, and regional harmonization of requirements, all of which contribute to constructing a extra resilient nationwide street system.

Finally the success of 2026 will rely on whether or not the Fund can resolve the shortcomings revealed in 2025. Enhancing undertaking completion charges, tightening contract supervision, accelerating procurement, and strengthening income programs will decide whether or not the establishment can consolidate its positive factors. If these challenges are addressed with strategic focus, the Nationwide Street Fund is properly positioned to emerge as considered one of Liberia’s most dependable and transformative public establishments.

Rural Renewable Power 12 months in Evaluate Evaluation

2025 LOW

The yr 2025 uncovered a number of shortcomings inside the Rural Renewable Power sector, with widespread criticism directed at delays in undertaking implementation and restricted protection throughout rural counties. Many communities continued to expertise extended energy outages as a consequence of malfunctioning photo voltaic programs, poorly maintained mini grids, and the shortage of technical groups to reply to breakdowns. 

This inconsistency undermined the reliability of present vitality installations and raised considerations in regards to the sustainability of rural electrification efforts. Funding shortages remained a serious problem as a number of donor supported initiatives stalled as a consequence of budgetary constraints and administrative delays. Rural group leaders expressed frustration over the sluggish tempo of enlargement of photo voltaic mini grids and the unfulfilled promise of extending renewable energy programs to distant areas that also stay utterly off the grid. Some initiatives that had been introduced in late 2024 did not take off in 2025, contributing to public disappointment and weakening belief within the sector’s management.

The sector additionally struggled with weak monitoring and accountability mechanisms. Reviews surfaced about gear being broken as a consequence of lack of upkeep and insufficient technical oversight. In some areas group put in photo voltaic programs operated far beneath their meant capability as a result of there was no structured upkeep program, resulting in fast deterioration of pricy gear.

The mixture of stalled initiatives, restricted enlargement, upkeep failures, and budgetary constraints contributed to a notion of stagnation within the sector. Many voters questioned whether or not rural renewable vitality initiatives had been being carried out in a strategic and sustainable method able to reworking rural livelihoods.

The challenges witnessed in 2025 pointed on to systemic weaknesses which have lengthy affected the agricultural vitality panorama. The reliance on exterior funding continues to go away the sector weak every time international or donor priorities shift. Weak group engagement and lack of native technical capability highlighted the necessity for stronger coaching packages that empower rural residents to handle and maintain put in programs. 

The shortcoming to quickly reply to breakdowns additionally underscored the pressing want for a coordinated upkeep technique with clear traces of accountability.
Moreover, the sluggish begin of key initiatives revealed gaps in planning and execution at institutional ranges. And not using a extra predictable funding framework and stronger inter company collaboration, rural renewable vitality objectives danger falling additional behind. The problems seen in 2025 due to this fact characterize deeper structural challenges that require critical reforms reasonably than non permanent interventions.

2025 HIGH

Regardless of the difficulties, 2025 additionally noticed a number of achievements inside the Rural Renewable Power sector which offered hope for improved efficiency within the years forward. Plenty of rural communities gained entry to solar energy by means of newly put in mini grids that restored confidence within the sector’s capability to ship tangible outcomes.

These new programs helped energy clinics, colleges, water pumps, and small companies, leading to improved well being service supply and financial exercise.
New partnerships between authorities businesses, worldwide donors, and personal sector actors helped re energize sure stalled initiatives. Technical groups had been deployed to restore non useful photo voltaic installations in at the least a handful of laborious to succeed in districts, bringing renewed gentle to communities that had spent months with out electrical energy.

The sector additionally recorded progress in coaching packages aimed toward constructing native technician capability. Younger individuals from completely different counties obtained arms on expertise coaching permitting them to diagnose and restore photo voltaic gear, keep battery banks, and handle mini grids extra successfully. This strategy laid the inspiration for a group centered mannequin of vitality sustainability.
Authorities commitments to develop rural electrification and combine extra renewable options into nationwide planning frameworks added additional momentum. Public statements from sector leaders emphasised a renewed concentrate on transparency, accountability, and sensible vitality options for underserved areas.

The progress made in 2025 demonstrated that regardless of structural challenges, the Rural Renewable Power sector retains sturdy potential when planning, funding, and implementation align successfully. The set up and restore of photo voltaic mini grids confirmed that focused investments can produce rapid advantages for well being, training, and small enterprise operations. The coaching initiatives signaled a shift towards sustainability, recognizing that long run performance relies on empowering native technicians reasonably than relying solely on exterior specialists.

Partnerships solid in 2025 additionally strengthened the inspiration for future progress, as collaborative frameworks between authorities, donors, and communities enable for extra environment friendly undertaking supply. The yr’s achievements confirmed that when sources are correctly allotted and oversight is strengthened, rural renewable vitality can considerably enhance high quality of life for rural residents.

2026 LOOK OUT

Because the nation enters 2026, expectations for the Rural Renewable Power sector are excessive. Stakeholders anticipate a stronger push towards increasing rural mini grids, restoring malfunctioning programs, and rising the general reliability of the vitality provide in distant areas. There’s rising demand for a transparent nationwide roadmap that outlines how renewable vitality will likely be scaled up and built-in into rural improvement packages.

Communities are hoping for the completion of lengthy delayed initiatives and the introduction of extra versatile financing fashions that enable native companies and households to faucet into renewable vitality options. There’s additionally anticipation of extra funding in photo voltaic powered agricultural instruments, chilly storage amenities, and irrigation programs, which might assist meals manufacturing and financial stability.

With new management in some energy-related establishments and renewed political consideration to rural improvement, 2026 is predicted to focus closely on accountability, undertaking supply, and measurable enhancements. The emphasis on coaching extra rural technicians is more likely to proceed and will considerably scale back the speed of system failures throughout communities.

GRADE: C

THE LIBERIA AGRICULTURE COMMODITY REGULATORY AUTHORITY (LACRA)

DIRECTOR GENERAL, DAN T. SARYEE, (INTERIM)

THE LOWDOWN: The Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority, extensively generally known as LACRA, entered 2025 as probably the most carefully watched regulatory establishments within the nation. Created by the federal government to control, standardize, certify, and monitor Liberia’s agricultural commodities, particularly these destined for export markets, LACRA carries the accountability of curbing smuggling, safeguarding public income, imposing commodity high quality requirements, and guaranteeing that Liberia’s agricultural commerce aligns with worldwide necessities.

This mandate locations the company on the coronary heart of nationwide financial stability, that means that any shift in its efficiency can instantly have an effect on farmer livelihoods, authorities earnings, and the credibility of the agriculture sector as a complete.

The yr opened with what many observers described as probably the most promising phases within the establishment’s historical past. Buildings that had lengthy appeared fragile or disorganized all of the sudden started displaying indicators of renewed self-discipline, stronger coordination, and improved operational readability. These modifications had been extensively attributed to the management of Christopher D. Sankolo, whose fast rise and equally swift removing grew to become considered one of Liberia’s most mentioned governance tales of 2025.

Sankolo’s early-year strategy didn’t materialize in isolation. It was the continuation of reforms launched in 2023 and expanded all through 2024. As he entered 2025, Sankolo centered on strengthening LACRA’s authority over commodity flows, tightening controls on the Freeport of Monrovia the place smuggling had traditionally been rampant, enhancing licensing and certification programs, and imposing rigorous procurement and record-keeping practices. 

Employees members described a administration type grounded in constant supervision, clear directives, and a dedication to dismantling smuggling networks that had lengthy undermined nationwide income.

Reviews from inside LACRA pointed to a cultural shift characterised by transparency, structured workflows, and a renewed sense of objective amongst staff. Document administration improved, each day operations grew to become extra orderly, and communication contained in the establishment strengthened. These inside modifications had been mirrored within the efficiency of the company. Export volumes jumped from 2,660 metric tons in 2023 to 33,730 metric tons in 2024, a dramatic enhance that shifted the expectations of donors and commodity stakeholders. The company projected 44,000 metric tons for 2025 and had already secured greater than half of its annual price range by midyear, sustaining over a million {dollars} in its accounts. Such achievements prompted President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to call Sankolo the Finest Performing Public Servant of 2024, signaling official recognition of the company’s renewed progress.

Sankolo additionally pursued institutional improvement efforts in Gbarnga, the place he carried out surveys of LACRA-owned land and held peaceable negotiations with households occupying parts of it, aiming to pave the best way for long-term infrastructure enlargement. His strategy emphasised not solely direct monitoring but additionally administrative openness, with licensing information, export statistics, and monetary paperwork shared extra freely inside the establishment to cut back alternatives for illicit practices.

Regardless of this momentum, the promising begin to the yr took an abrupt flip. On June 26, 2025, only a week after receiving nationwide reward, Sankolo was suspended by President Boakai for alleged monetary impropriety. The choice shocked workers members and stakeholders who believed the company was on the verge of a record-setting yr. This second grew to become the defining low down of 2025, illustrating how shortly institutional progress will be disrupted and the way weak public-sector reforms stay to political shifts.

2025 HIGH: With Sankolo’s suspension, LACRA entered what many insiders described because the 2025 Excessive Faculty part, a standard Liberian expression used to point an surprising subsequent chapter in unfolding occasions. This era started with the appointment of Dan T. Saryee as interim head, and it marked a sudden transition from structured reform to uncertainty. Employees members reported that transparency mechanisms constructed below the earlier management had been being weakened, and the shift raised questions on whether or not progress achieved over the previous two years might be sustained.

A central level of rivalry was the removing of the anti-smuggling process drive on the Freeport, a crucial frontline crew that had beforehand blocked irregular commodity motion and ensured consistency between recorded and precise exports. Workers said that oversight at main inspection factors weakened considerably after the unit was eliminated. Entry to documentation grew to become extra restricted, monetary particulars had been now not brazenly circulated, and communication channels that had as soon as been clear started to fracture.

Issues additionally emerged about administrative practices. Employees members alleged that spending patterns started to deviate from the established price range, notably in areas similar to journey and public relations. There have been additionally claims that unauthorized appointments had been being made, contradicting the presidential directive of November 28, 2024, which explicitly restricted the powers of appearing heads of presidency establishments. These allegations intensified the sense of unease amongst staff who believed that institutional governance was drifting away from the requirements set earlier within the yr.

Additional uncertainty arose when a Civil Service Company personnel audit requested by the interim management produced suggestions that had been finally not carried out. This contributed to a rising notion that LACRA was steadily shedding the organizational coherence it had constructed between 2023 and the primary half of 2025. Insiders reported rising issue in accessing verified export knowledge, elevating considerations about whether or not the company would meet its projected 2025 targets. Some workers members estimated that efficiency may fall to roughly seventy-five p.c if smuggling elevated and inside monitoring remained weakened.

The 2025 Excessive due to this fact represented the shift from achievement to uncertainty, from institutional self-discipline to inside confusion, and from administrative cohesion to questions on transparency and accountability. It grew to become clear that the company had entered a interval marked by contested decision-making, declining morale, and a discount within the openness that had outlined the sooner months of the yr.

2026 LOW: As Liberia seems to be towards 2026, LACRA stands at a crucial crossroads. Analysts be aware that the company is rising from a yr characterised by each vital progress and abrupt disruption. The structural enhancements made below Sankolo had positioned the establishment for sustained progress, stronger enforcement, and elevated export capability. Had these reforms continued with out interruption, LACRA may need approached 2026 with unprecedented momentum and institutional confidence.

As an alternative, allegations of weakened monitoring programs, diminished transparency, and unclear administrative path have solid uncertainty over the company’s trajectory. Observers argue that although many of those considerations come from inside voices, they carry weight as a result of regulatory establishments rely closely on belief, stability, and constant management. As soon as these parts erode, institutional effectiveness is compromised, and public confidence begins to weaken.

GRADE: F

2026 OUTLOOK: The nationwide dialog now focuses on whether or not LACRA can restore transparency, rebuild workers morale, reinforce anti-smuggling mechanisms, and reestablish inside communication and knowledge integrity. The solutions to those questions will decide whether or not the company can recuperate from the turbulence of 2025 or whether or not it can proceed grappling with instability within the yr forward.

LACRA’s scenario has advanced right into a broader check case for public-sector reform in Liberia. The suspension of a high-performing official, adopted by allegations of administrative uncertainty below interim management, has raised considerations in regards to the resilience of presidency establishments within the face of political change. As 2026 approaches, LACRA stays positioned between its demonstrated potential for disciplined governance and the fact of inside disruptions that threaten the progress achieved lately.

Whether or not the company regains stability or continues to face challenges will form not solely the way forward for agricultural exports but additionally the broader public belief in Liberia’s governance structure. The yr forward will reveal whether or not LACRA can rebuild its foundations or whether or not the turbulence of 2025 will lengthen into 2026, putting the company in a continued state of uncertainty.

NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY (NDMA)

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ANSU DULLEH  

THE LOWDOWN: The yr 2025 opened with rising expectations that the Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Company (NDMA) would lastly ship the form of structured, accountable, and responsive management that disaster-stricken communities had lengthy demanded. But beneath the floor of public assurances and official press statements, a deep stream of corruption, administrative manipulation, and monetary irregularities was steadily shaping the company’s operations below Govt Director Ansu Dulleh. 

The NDMA, an establishment created to guard residents in moments of disaster, as an alternative discovered itself on the middle of a widening scandal that uncovered how aid funds, humanitarian provides, and emergency logistics had been allegedly transformed into instruments of private enrichment and political maneuvering. Because the yr progressed, these points advanced from inside whispers to widespread public information, confirming a sample of governance failures that rendered the company unresponsive throughout a few of Liberia’s most extreme moments of want.

The corruption that dominated the NDMA’s efficiency in 2025 started revealing itself by means of inconsistent reporting, falsified achievements, and unexplained monetary actions. This was most seen when the company submitted a number of conflicting lists of accomplishments for the 2025 Nationwide Finances. Moderately than current a single, verifiable report, Dulleh offered three completely different variations of the NDMA’s supposed achievements, every one contradicting the final. 

Officers conversant in the matter described this as a part of a broader sample wherein experiences had been altered and reconfigured to masks fund diversion, faux deliveries, and aid inventory that would not be accounted for. These inconsistencies weren’t clerical errors however deliberate makes an attempt to obscure the reality about how the company’s funds and provides had been used all year long.

Equally troubling was the inner dismantling of accountability constructions created to forestall abuse of public sources. The legally mandated roles of the 2 deputy administrators, who had been alleged to validate requests for aid supplies and co-sign monetary paperwork, had been systematically bypassed. Dulleh personally eliminated the Deputy for Administration from the company’s financial institution accounts, permitting him to authorize transactions with out the checks and balances required by legislation. Procurement processes grew to become opaque, approval pathways had been manipulated, and contracts had been issued with out correct documentation. Employees members reported that selections relating to aid purchases and distribution had been more and more made behind closed doorways, with solely a handful of people conscious of how funds had been being spent.

These administrative breaches coincided with troubling monetary discrepancies. The NDMA obtained over 1.4 million United States {dollars} for the 2024–2025 fiscal interval, but by early 2025 it remained unclear how the cash had been used. Reduction objects weren’t reportedly delivered to communities affected by fires, floods, and sea erosion. Victims in search of assist had been advised that the federal government had offered no sources for catastrophe response, although a whole bunch of 1000’s of {dollars} had been allotted particularly for that objective. Funds reportedly earmarked for emergency response and flood aid merely vanished from the company’s books. In the meantime, Dulleh’s private earnings and advantages reportedly grew, elevating additional considerations that catastrophe funds had been being siphoned into personal use whereas residents endured devastating losses with no assist.

The disaster prolonged past money. Reduction provides donated by overseas governments and worldwide companions, together with meals, medical provides, tarpaulins, buckets, and gas, had been diverted or went lacking totally. Gadgets donated by the Chinese language Embassy, the Saudi Authorities, UNICEF, Motion Towards Starvation, and personal firms by no means reached meant beneficiaries. Reviews contained in the company pointed to falsified waybills, ghost deliveries, lacking inventory entries, and inflated procurement costs. As an alternative of arriving in disaster-stricken communities, these provides had been allegedly offered or redirected for private profit or political distribution.

In a yr when President Boakai suspended greater than twenty senior authorities officers for corruption, Dulleh grew to become one of many few embattled public figures who managed to flee suspension, regardless of the mounting allegations towards him and regardless of a number of ongoing investigative processes. His capacity to stay in workplace shocked many observers, particularly as inside and exterior proof continued to reveal systemic wrongdoing contained in the NDMA.

2025 HIGH: The corruption wave inside the NDMA reached its peak in what many analysts describe because the 2025 Excessive, a interval when a number of layers of misconduct grew to become plain and the company’s collapse in integrity grew to become seen not solely to inside workers however to the broader public. It was throughout this era that monetary irregularities expanded past questionable bookkeeping and advanced right into a full-scale administrative breakdown. Proof gathered all year long confirmed that the NDMA’s management had created a shadow system for monetary administration, one wherein authorized procedures had been changed by private discretion.

Investigations uncovered that funds meant for emergency medical provides, meals distribution, and evacuation assist had been redirected towards nonessential purchases and unauthorized expenditures. The company reportedly spent eighty-one thousand {dollars} on two second-hand buses with out offering any justification or documentation relating to their situation or objective. Giant sums allotted for stationeries, upkeep, and repairs produced no seen enhancements, but had been totally withdrawn from the company’s accounts. Over seventy thousand {dollars} was spent on stationeries alone with no traceable stock, whereas 100 fifty thousand {dollars} allotted for amenities repairs yielded no significant work, although the NDMA constructing continued to undergo from extreme leakages.

The misuse of gas grew to become one other purple flag. Greater than twenty-three thousand {dollars} price of gas couldn’t be accounted for, with experiences suggesting that unauthorized personnel routinely used authorities autos and gas playing cards for private transport. On the similar time, Dorley signed contracts with non permanent employees and volunteers exterior official procedures, bypassing the Civil Service Company’s merit-based hiring necessities. Recruitment grew to become a instrument for political patronage reasonably than skilled capability constructing.

Some of the alarming discoveries was the disappearance of aid inventory. Rice donations, cooking oil, tarpaulins, water containers, and different emergency provides went lacking in giant portions. Investigators discovered that inventory information had been altered, falsified, or destroyed. Beneficiaries listed on supply information couldn’t be discovered, revealing the existence of ghost recipients used to justify nonexistent distributions. Gadgets meant for households affected by storms, fires, and flooding had been, in lots of circumstances, diverted for private sale or used as political favors.

As these revelations intensified, the NDMA struggled to meet even its most simple tasks. Communities devastated by disasters had been left with out help. Households who misplaced houses and livelihoods had been advised repeatedly that no sources had been accessible, whereas inside paperwork indicated that a whole bunch of 1000’s of {dollars} had been allotted for emergency aid. This hole between official funding and on-the-ground actuality grew to become the clearest demonstration of the corruption that had infiltrated the company’s whole management construction.

Though a number of investigative our bodies, together with the Liberia Anti-Corruption Fee and the Normal Auditing Fee, confirmed proof of wrongdoing, Dorley remained in workplace. His survival grew to become probably the most controversial political tales of the yr, elevating questions in regards to the limits of accountability in an administration that had in any other case demonstrated a willingness to droop officers dealing with corruption allegations.

GRADE: F

2026 OUTLOOK: As Liberia approaches 2026, the Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Company stands at a defining second. The corruption documented all through 2025 left the company weakened, demoralized, and unable to carry out its important nationwide duties. The lack of public belief is profound. Catastrophe victims now not consider that the company will intervene. Worldwide companions are hesitating to commit new sources with out ensures of accountability. Authorities auditors and investigators have accomplished findings that time to widespread abuse, but administrative uncertainty continues to hover across the establishment.

The outlook for 2026 relies on three key elements: whether or not the findings of ongoing investigations will lastly be acted upon, whether or not the company’s management will endure restructuring, and whether or not the federal government will transfer decisively to revive accountability programs that had been dismantled below Dulleh’s tenure. If these steps should not taken, the NDMA dangers getting into the brand new yr with the identical vulnerabilities that outlined 2025—weak monetary controls, lacking provides, unreliable knowledge, and a management construction that operates exterior authorized boundaries.

The yr forward will reveal whether or not the company can rise from the turmoil of 2025 or whether or not Liberia will proceed to face disasters with out an efficient nationwide responder.

LIBERIA LAND AUTHORITY (LLA)

SAMUEL F. KPAKIO, CHAIRMAN

THE LOWDOWN: The Liberia Land Authority (LLA) is a authorities company in Liberia, established by an Act of the Nationwide Legislature on October 6, 2016. It was created as a part of a serious coverage, authorized, and institutional reform of Liberia’s land sector, consolidating and changing quite a lot of beforehand separate land-related authorities establishments. LLA’s core mission is to contribute “to a peaceable, secure and affluent Liberia by means of the efficient and environment friendly supply of land governance and administration companies that guarantee equitable entry to land, safety of tenure, correct land use and safety of the atmosphere.” Whereas the Authority has made vital progress in settling land disputes, it continues to be plagued with challenges – starting from capability limitations throughout the counties, insufficient price range and inadequate operational logistics which proceed to sluggish service supply.

2025 HIGH: Regardless of these setbacks, the Liberia Land Authority recorded vital achievements because the yr progressed. Some of the notable accomplishments was the profitable intervention in and determination of longstanding land disputes in a number of counties, together with Bong, Lofa, and Grand Bassa. These circumstances usually concerned advanced interfamily disagreements or contested historic claims, but by means of mediation and sustained engagement, the Authority managed to dealer agreements that subtle tensions and clarified possession for a whole bunch of residents.

The establishment additionally made measurable progress in increasing its land deed registry, digitizing 1000’s of information that had beforehand existed solely in fragile paper type. This improvement not solely improved safety and accessibility but additionally diminished the duplication and fraudulent copy of deeds that had fueled disputes for years.

Underneath the yr in evaluation, the LLA formally handed over “customary land deeds” to 23 communities throughout three counties (Grand Cape Mount, Bomi, and Nimba) after they accomplished the confirmatory survey and customary-land formalization (CLF) course of.

By that CLF course of, a complete of 268,502.70 acres had been surveyed and formalized below statutory deed titles, giving these communities safe, authorized recognition of their land holdings below the legislation. This can be a main step towards resolving long-standing problems with unclear land tenure and overlapping claims on customary land — notably essential for rural communities.

The LLA launched a brand new Nationwide Deed Kind, launched on November 1, 2025, with a transition interval ending December 1, 2025. This new type is supposed to standardize land documentation, scale back ambiguity, and assist stop fraudulent or doubtful land transactions. 

They adopted Customary Working Procedures (SOPs) for deed verification and deed registration, serving to to professionalize and systematize land administration throughout the nation. To assist subject operations, LLA procured 12 motorbikes for subject officers in six counties — enhancing mobility, on-the-ground capability, and outreach.  

Improved IT and digital infrastructure: the nationwide “Land Administration System (LAS)” was stabilized and enhanced, and in some counties (Grand Bassa, Margibi, and Bong), LLA put in Starlink web connectivity — enabling higher knowledge administration, transparency, and repair supply. Digitization and long-term modernization: launching nationwide digital land registry system (LIS)

LLA signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in October 2025 with two South Korean corporations (ALLFORLAND and LTMETRIC) to develop a digital nationwide land administration platform — the Liberia Land Info System (LIS). This goals to digitize land information, mapping, possession knowledge and vastly enhance transparency, effectivity, and accountability.

The transfer to a digital land registry is predicted to assist remove duplicate registrations, scale back fraud and land-related disputes, and streamline land transactions throughout Liberia. 

After imposing a moratorium on sale/lease of public land earlier in 2025 (to evaluation insurance policies and guard towards misuse), LLA lifted the moratorium mid-2025 — permitting authorized transactions to renew below new pointers.

With that, LLA reestablished regulatory oversight for public land sale, lease or switch — with up to date procedures (e.g., new deed type, “Non permanent Occupancy Permits,” stricter vetting) designed to make sure transparency and accountable land administration. Underneath a grant from the International Environmental Facility (GEF) through Conservation Worldwide (CI), LLA obtained important gear to assist “sustainable land administration and environmental conservation.” This aids LLA’s capacity to include environmental safeguards into land governance. The LLA deepened collaboration with the United Nations Growth Programme (UNDP) in 2025 — reaffirming partnerships to advertise equitable land governance, scale back land disputes, and assist customary land-holder rights throughout Liberia.

LLA publicly reaffirmed its dedication to supporting girls’s land rights — linking safe land possession to broader social points similar to gender-based violence (GBV) prevention.

As well as, County land workplaces obtained renewed assist and coaching in the course of the yr, enabling workers to enhance dispute decision practices, deal with group complaints extra professionally, and supply clearer steering on land governance frameworks. Stakeholders praised the Authority’s work in strengthening cooperation with native chiefs, district commissioners, civil society teams, and surveyors to advertise peaceable land administration.

The Authority additionally performed a key position in advancing agricultural improvement initiatives by guaranteeing that land transactions complied with nationwide laws and by participating communities to deal with considerations earlier than buyers arrived. This helped scale back friction between industrial pursuits and native landowners, making a extra secure atmosphere for funding within the agricultural and forestry sectors.

2025 LOW: Regardless of significant positive factors in 2025, the controversial Grand Gedeh land lead overshadowed the LLA’s achievements.

Underneath the yr in evaluation, county authorities in Grand Gedeh — led by the Alex C. Grant (Superintendent) — signed a 30-year lease settlement granting 900 acres (although each Grand Gedeh and LLA reported 500 acres) of land within the B’hai Administrative District to a overseas (Burkinabé) investor Boubou Sebu for cocoa farming.  The deal was offered publicly as a improvement undertaking — anticipated to generate income (e.g., US$600,000 over 30 years) and stimulate the native economic system.

Instantly, nevertheless, the lease triggered anger and concern amongst native residents, conventional leaders, civil-society actors, and even some lawmakers. Many contended the land was customary, belonging collectively to communities — so any lease ought to respect communal possession below the nationwide authorized framework.  

The lease was challenged on grounds that it violated the Land Rights Act of 2018, particularly provisions governing the lease and switch of customary land.  Investigations revealed that the lease was concluded with out necessary group consultations, correct authorization, or due course of. The authorities concerned allegedly bypassed required vetting procedures.

The five hundred-acre parcel reportedly belonged to the individuals of Juzon City (B’hai District) below customary tenure. The lease to a overseas nationwide disregarded communal rights protected by legislation. Many voters felt the deal threatened their ancestral lands, forest sources, and long-term management over their heritage and livelihood.  

The lease stirred widespread outrage amongst residents, civil-society teams and college students, who warned that such offers undermine group pursuits and will ignite battle. There have been additionally considerations about environmental affect (forest land, cocoa farming, migration of overseas farmers), lack of benefit-sharing with locals, and potential long-term displacement.

On October 31, 2025, the LLA publicly revoked the “Growth Grant Deed” that had been issued to Grand Gedeh County for the disputed land.

The LLA suspended key county officers concerned: the County Land Administrator and the County Land Dispute Officer, pending investigation. Moreover, LLA dismissed 4 of its personal workers (from divisions together with deed-registration and public-land vetting) for misconduct, misapplication of authority, and administrative malpractice associated to the transaction.

The case has been referred to the nationwide anti-corruption physique and the Ministry of Justice for potential prosecution of implicated individuals.

Whereas high officers in Monrovia proceed to distance themselves, civil society and observers are calling for full investigation of the whole administration since they affixed their signatures on the deed and had been. Whereas some are calling for the dismissal of the superintendent and the LLA Chairman and high administration for not doing correct due diligence.

Analysts say the saga reveals deep vulnerabilities in land governance throughout Liberia: how customary land rights, communal possession and oversight mechanisms will be undermined by native authority abuse when transparency is weak.

The company additionally battled public considerations over the sluggish tempo of deed verification and the backlog of land title processing. Residents complained of ready months to acquire licensed copies or to obtain readability on land standing, elevating questions on administrative effectivity. Finances limitations additional strained operations throughout the nation, with some county workplaces functioning with insufficient gear, weak mobility, and irregular subject monitoring.

As donor funding cycles fluctuated, the Authority skilled difficulties sustaining group engagement packages and public consciousness campaigns on land rights. In a number of areas, confusion continued over the distinctions between public, personal, and customary land, a spot that fueled disputes and made it tougher for the Authority to implement its mandate constantly.

GRADE: F

2026 LOOKOUT

Because the Liberia Land Authority steps into 2026 it does so with each alternative and urgency. The progress made in 2025 units the stage for a extra formidable agenda, however unresolved weaknesses nonetheless threaten to undermine long run positive factors. The approaching yr is predicted to focus closely on deepening digitization efforts, increasing the nationwide land registry, and enhancing infrastructure in county land workplaces. Sooner deed processing, clearer communication channels, and stronger enforcement of survey requirements will likely be crucial to lowering disputes and enhancing service supply.

Extra consideration may also be wanted to deal with city land conflicts which have grown extra pronounced as cities develop and casual settlements enhance. The Authority is predicted to ramp up group education schemes aimed toward serving to residents perceive land rights, customary land legal guidelines, and the procedures required for authentic land acquisition.

One main space of focus will likely be strengthening collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and safety businesses to deal with circumstances of unlawful land gross sales, solid deeds, and unauthorized survey actions which proceed to undermine public confidence. Success in these areas will decide whether or not the Authority can keep its current positive factors and construct a extra clear and resilient land governance system.

LIBERIA’S RURAL& RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY (RREA)

SAMUEL BOCAY NAGBE JR., EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

2025 LOWDOWN: RREA was first established by Govt Order in 2010, and later formally enshrined into legislation (through an Act of Legislature) round 2015. Its core mandate: to advertise and facilitate the event and provide of contemporary and renewable vitality companies in rural Liberia — particularly in areas not served by the principle nationwide grid. RREA works with public, personal, and group builders to plan, implement, and handle off-grid and decentralized vitality options (photo voltaic house programs, mini-grids, hybrid programs, and so forth.) for “rural and underserviced” communities. The company additionally leads the nation’s formally adopted Rural Power Technique and Grasp Plan (RESMP), which units targets, priorities and frameworks for rural electrification and renewable-energy deployment nationwide. Underneath RESMP, “rural” means all areas exterior larger Monrovia — whether or not small villages, cities, or distant settlements. The plan envisions a mixture of options relying on context: decentralized renewables (photo voltaic, hybrid, small hydro), mini-grids, and stand-alone programs — optimizing for value, sustainability, and fairness.  The yr 2025 uncovered a number of shortcomings inside the Rural Renewable Power sector, with widespread criticism directed at delays in undertaking implementation and restricted protection throughout rural counties. Many communities continued to expertise extended energy outages as a consequence of malfunctioning photo voltaic programs, poorly maintained mini grids, and the shortage of technical groups to reply to breakdowns. 

2025 HIGH: Regardless of the difficulties, 2025 additionally noticed a number of achievements inside the Rural Renewable Power sector which offered hope for improved efficiency within the years forward. Plenty of rural communities gained entry to solar energy by means of newly put in mini grids that restored confidence within the sector’s capability to ship tangible outcomes.

These new programs helped energy clinics, colleges, water pumps, and small companies, leading to improved well being service supply and financial exercise.
New partnerships between authorities businesses, worldwide donors, and personal sector actors helped re-energize sure stalled initiatives. Technical groups had been deployed to restore non-functional photo voltaic installations in at the least a handful of laborious -to attain districts, bringing renewed gentle to communities that had spent months with out electrical energy.

The sector additionally recorded progress in coaching packages aimed toward constructing native technician capability. Younger individuals from completely different counties obtained hands-on expertise coaching permitting them to diagnose and restore photo voltaic gear, keep battery banks, and handle mini grids extra successfully. This strategy laid the inspiration for a group centered mannequin of vitality sustainability.
Authorities commitments to develop rural electrification and combine extra renewable options into nationwide planning frameworks added additional momentum. Public statements from sector leaders emphasised a renewed concentrate on transparency, accountability, and sensible vitality options for underserved areas.

The progress made in 2025 demonstrated that regardless of structural challenges, the Rural Renewable Power sector retains sturdy potential when planning, funding, and implementation align successfully. The set up and restore of photo voltaic mini grids confirmed that focused investments can produce rapid advantages for well being, training, and small enterprise operations. The coaching initiatives signaled a shift towards sustainability, recognizing that long run performance relies on empowering native technicians reasonably than relying solely on exterior specialists.

Partnerships solid in 2025 additionally strengthened the inspiration for future progress, as collaborative frameworks between authorities, donors, and communities enable for extra environment friendly undertaking supply. The yr’s achievements confirmed that when sources are correctly allotted and oversight is strengthened, rural renewable vitality can considerably enhance high quality of life for rural residents.

2025 LOW: The yr 2025 uncovered a number of shortcomings inside the Rural Renewable Power sector, with widespread criticism directed at delays in undertaking implementation and restricted protection throughout rural counties. Many communities continued to expertise extended energy outages as a consequence of malfunctioning photo voltaic programs, poorly maintained mini grids, and the shortage of technical groups to reply to breakdowns.  

This inconsistency undermined the reliability of present vitality installations and raised considerations in regards to the sustainability of rural electrification efforts. Funding shortages remained a serious problem as a number of donor supported initiatives stalled as a consequence of budgetary constraints and administrative delays. Rural group leaders expressed frustration over the sluggish tempo of enlargement of photo voltaic mini grids and the unfulfilled promise of extending renewable energy programs to distant areas that also stay utterly off the grid. Some initiatives that had been introduced in late 2024 did not take off in 2025, contributing to public disappointment and weakening belief within the sector’s management.

The sector additionally struggled with weak monitoring and accountability mechanisms. Reviews surfaced about gear being broken as a consequence of lack of upkeep and insufficient technical oversight. In some areas group put in photo voltaic programs operated far beneath their meant capability as a result of there was no structured upkeep program, resulting in fast deterioration of pricy gear.

The mixture of stalled initiatives, restricted enlargement, upkeep failures, and budgetary constraints contributed to a notion of stagnation within the sector. Many voters questioned whether or not rural renewable vitality initiatives had been being carried out in a strategic and sustainable method able to reworking rural livelihoods.

The challenges witnessed in 2025 pointed on to systemic weaknesses which have lengthy affected the agricultural vitality panorama. The reliance on exterior funding continues to go away the sector weak every time international or donor priorities shift. Weak group engagement and lack of native technical capability highlighted the necessity for stronger coaching packages that empower rural residents to handle and maintain put in programs. 

The shortcoming to quickly reply to breakdowns additionally underscored the pressing want for a coordinated upkeep technique with clear traces of accountability.
Moreover, the sluggish begin of key initiatives revealed gaps in planning and execution at institutional ranges. And not using a extra predictable funding framework and stronger inter company collaboration, rural renewable vitality objectives danger falling additional behind. The problems seen in 2025 due to this fact characterize deeper structural challenges that require critical reforms reasonably than non permanent interventions.

GRADE: C

2026 LOOKOUT: Because the nation enters 2026, expectations for the Rural Renewable Power sector are excessive. Stakeholders anticipate a stronger push towards increasing rural mini grids, restoring malfunctioning programs, and rising the general reliability of the vitality provide in distant areas. There’s rising demand for a transparent nationwide roadmap that outlines how renewable vitality will likely be scaled up and built-in into rural improvement packages.

Communities are hoping for the completion of lengthy delayed initiatives and the introduction of extra versatile financing fashions that enable native companies and households to faucet into renewable vitality options. There’s additionally anticipation of extra funding in photo voltaic powered agricultural instruments, chilly storage amenities, and irrigation programs, which might assist meals manufacturing and financial stability.

With new management in some energy-related establishments and renewed political consideration to rural improvement, 2026 is predicted to focus closely on accountability, undertaking supply, and measurable enhancements. The emphasis on coaching extra rural technicians is more likely to proceed and will considerably scale back the speed of system failures throughout communities.

NATIONAL BUREAU OF CONCESSION

HANSON S. KIAZOLU, DIRECTOR GENERAL

THE LOWDOWN: The NBC was formally established by an Act of the Legislature in 2010. It was created to supply a centralized, coherent institutional framework for managing, monitoring and evaluating concession agreements throughout Liberia — particularly for pure sources, forestry, mining, and different sectors the place concessions (leases, logging/mining rights, and so forth.) are granted. 

Traditionally, concession administration in Liberia has suffered from poor oversight, resulting in environmental harm, land-use conflicts, and group grievances — particularly in forestry and mining sectors.

The multiplicity of businesses answerable for granting, monitoring, or regulating concessions made consistency and accountability tough to take care of — which contributed to exploitation or inequitable outcomes.

There have been questions on whether or not NBC all the time has enough sources, capability, and independence to implement compliance and defend group pursuits — particularly when highly effective buyers or political pressures are concerned.

Thus, the creation of NBC was meant to sort out precisely these issues: centralize oversight, implement requirements, and provide a test on concession-related abuse.

2025 HIGH: In 2025, the NBC additionally recorded various vital actions in 2025 that replicate makes an attempt to reclaim credibility and strengthen oversight features. Notably NBC initiated a complete compliance evaluation of two main concession-holding firms — Maryland Oil Palm Plantation (MOPP) and Cavalla Rubber Company (CRC) — in Maryland County. A senior Monitoring and Analysis delegation, led by former NBC Director Normal JSB Theodore Momo Jr. was dispatched to evaluate their adherence to concession agreements, together with social, financial, and environmental obligations.

That transfer was extensively seen as a obligatory sign that NBC was making an attempt to reassert its mandate over concession administration and to carry firms accountable for his or her commitments to group welfare and environmental stewardship. By public statements at a press briefing in Pleebo the Director Normal emphasised cooperation between concessionaires and affected communities and expressed optimism about improved transparency going ahead.

One other constructive improvement supporting broader reform efforts was the introduction of a brand new instrument for reviewing concession and mineral improvement agreements: a Standardized Scoring Framework for Reviewing Concession and Mineral Growth Agreements (SSFRC), launched in late 2025. 

The framework was launched by civil society in collaboration with improvement companions and goals to supply lawmakers with an goal, evidence-based system for evaluating concession agreements throughout a number of dimensions — authorized compliance, fiscal phrases, environmental safety, native content material, human rights, amongst others.

The SSFRC is predicted to strengthen oversight, enhance transparency, and scale back the subjective or opaque processes which have lengthy plagued concession approvals in Liberia. Many lawmakers and civil society actors praised the initiative, calling it a significant step towards guaranteeing that pure useful resource offers truly profit the individuals of Liberia reasonably than a couple of personal pursuits.

Lastly, below newly appointed management — Hanson S. Kiazolu —NBC alerts clear intent to reform its institutional programs. Throughout affirmation hearings Kiazolu pledged to conduct an neutral diagnostic evaluation of NBC’s constructions and processes to establish strengths, weaknesses, alternatives, and threats. He dedicated to imposing present concession legal guidelines, introducing digitalization for simpler data sharing and entry to concession knowledge by residents and stakeholders, and launching an annual score-card system to trace efficiency and allow real-time data-driven resolution making.

These actions characterize NBC’s most critical efforts lately to reconfigure itself as a more practical, clear, and accountable steward of concession agreements.

2025 LOW: In 2025, the NBC got here below sharp criticism for a perceived failure to stay as much as its core tasks notably relating to enforcement and oversight of concession agreements. A vocal critic, Amara Konneh — Senator from Gbarpolu County — in a letter to the Senate plenary warned that the Bureau’s “poor efficiency” had contributed to “vital financial shortfalls” for the nation. 

He argued that regardless of NBC’s mandate to implement compliance, transparency, and accountability in concession agreements, the establishment did not conduct well timed opinions and implement obligations on concessionaires, resulting in oversight gaps and income losses.

The criticisms echo longstanding public considerations over concession incentives similar to tax breaks, royalty waivers, and different privileges which had been initially designed to draw post-war funding however whose long-term advantages at the moment are being questioned. In line with critics, NBC didn’t present enough guardrails or enforceable mechanisms to make sure that firms below concession had been assembly their obligations, thus undermining fiscal sustainability and sending a unfavorable sign to buyers and the general public alike.

The shortcomings led to erosion of public confidence in NBC’s capacity to safeguard nationwide curiosity and be certain that concession offers ship actual advantages for Liberians reasonably than merely serve overseas and company pursuits.

GRADE: D

2026 LOOKOUT: As 2026 unfolds, a number of key points will decide whether or not the constructive strikes of 2025 translate into lasting change for NBC and for Liberia’s concession governance

First, the success of the compliance opinions — like these in Maryland County — must be verified. Will probably be essential to see whether or not MOPP, CRC, and different concessionaires act on any findings, remediate previous failures, and commit to higher practices going ahead. The general public and communities affected by concessions might want to maintain these firms to account.

Second, it stays to be seen how successfully the SSFRC will likely be built-in into the formal concession approval and evaluation course of by authorities businesses and the Legislature. If lawmakers critically undertake it as a typical instrument, it may turn into a game-changer for useful resource governance. But when it stays a advice reasonably than a binding commonplace, enhancements could also be restricted.

Third, NBC below the management of Hanson S. Kiazolu will face the tough process of institutional reform: digitalizing concession knowledge, constructing capability for constant monitoring and analysis, strengthening transparency, and imposing compliance. These reforms would require sources, political will, and sustained unbiased oversight. The power of NBC to ship on these guarantees will form public belief.