MONROVIA – Senator Momo Cyrus, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Nationwide Safety, Protection Intelligence and Veteran Affairs, has vowed that the Senate won’t be influenced by political connections or social gathering loyalty in confirming nominees to move the Liberia Drug Enforcement Company (LDEA).
By Obediah Johnson, [email protected], and Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected]
“It’s not going to be a enterprise as regular the place folks name us and ask us for favor due to social gathering line or some connections,” Sen. Cyrus declared. “This time round, people who could be nominated to take over the Liberia Drug Enforcement Company need to be skilled folks. We are going to make it possible for that affirmation speaks to honesty and people who will probably be nominated undergo the formality and have the pedigree, mandatory capability and the technical abilities and talent to handle the LDEA.”
His assertion comes amid heightened considerations over Liberia’s worsening drug disaster, which nationwide and worldwide companions have described as an “existential menace” to the nation’s stability.
A 2023 report by the International Motion for Sustainable Growth (GASD) highlighted that Monrovia alone hosts over 866 ghettos and a house to greater than 100,000 continual drug customers. These drug dens have turn into breeding grounds for crime, poverty, and hopelessness, whereas the traffickers and sellers revenue with impunity, shielded by weak legal guidelines, lenient sentencing, and corruption inside the system.
The decision for skilled management on the LDEA is seen as essential to tackling drug trafficking and rehabilitation challenges.
The Boakai-Koung administration has made the struggle in opposition to drug habit and trafficking a high precedence, however frequent management crises on the LDEA have continued to hamper progress. In August, President Boakai dismissed the company’s management and appointed an interim administration workforce of safety professionals to strengthen the nation’s response.
These eliminated included Anthony Okay. Souh, Director Common; Gwee Okay. Porkpah, Deputy Director Common for Administration; and Sebastian Farr, Deputy Director Common for Operations. The Government Mansion mentioned the dismissals have been a part of efforts to revamp the LDEA and restore public confidence amid a surge in illicit drug trafficking—notably the unfold of artificial substances resembling kush.
To fill the vacuum, President Boakai appointed Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitzgerald T. M. Biago as Officer-in-Cost (OIC); Ernest T. Tarpeh, Assistant Director for Particular Providers on the NSA, as Deputy for Administration and Investigation; and Assistant Commissioner of Police Patrick B. Kormazu as Deputy for Operations.
This was not the primary shakeup on the LDEA below Boakai. In 2024, he dismissed Director Common Abraham Kromah and deputies Hassan Fadiga and Gbawou Kowou following a Justice Ministry investigation right into a violent disturbance on the company’s headquarters.
Towards this backdrop, Sen. Cyrus warned that the Senate will topic any new nominees to rigorous scrutiny. He disclosed that previously, members of the manager and legislature positioned calls to senators to affect affirmation selections. “When nominees come right here sooner or later in time, the chair of the committee receives calls in favor of the nominees. That is an open secret,” he revealed.
The Senator raised the alarm shortly after assembly with the performing LDEA management at his Capitol Constructing workplace on Wednesday, September 17, 2025. The assembly, he mentioned, was supposed to debate the company’s challenges, features, and help wanted within the struggle in opposition to medicine.
Cyrus praised the interim administration workforce’s plans and promised committee help. He, nonetheless, referred to as for higher pay for LDEA brokers, noting that poor salaries demotivate them and lift integrity considerations. He additionally emphasised the necessity for assessing brokers’ {qualifications}, bettering logistics, and relocating the company from its dilapidated headquarters.
In accordance with him, some brokers have gone unpaid for as much as 10 years, which he described as a “menace” to nationwide safety. He disclosed that the company is predicted to obtain about 15 autos by means of budgetary allocation however burdened that the LDEA wants not less than US$8–10 million for efficient operations.
The Senator’s remarks have reignited longstanding considerations over corruption and political manipulation within the Senate’s affirmation course of. Over time, the physique has confronted allegations of receiving bribes to approve presidential nominees, concessions, and resolutions.
In 2021, former Professional-Tempore Albert T. Chie ordered a probe after ex-staffer Daniel Sando alleged senators acquired US$20,000 every to approve a decision permitting the Central Financial institution to print over L$48 billion in new banknotes. In 2020, it was alleged that US$180,000 was shared amongst lawmakers following approval of former President Weah’s COVID-19 stimulus bundle, with senators overtly admitting to receiving parts of the cash as “operational price.”
With Liberia’s drug disaster worsening, all eyes are actually on the Senate to see whether or not Cyrus’ vow of “no enterprise as regular” will mark a turning level within the struggle in opposition to narcotics and the politics of affirmation.
