– LNP and Transport Ministry clash over control of driver’s license and vehicle registration contract
By Jerromie S. Walters
MONROVIA – It was a chaotic experience in Central Monrovia on Thursday when peaceful protesting Transport Ministry employees met violent police resistance during their march against the impending transfer of critical operations to the Liberia Traffic Management (LTM). The messy scenes left dozens injured and multiple arrests made as riot officers used excessive force against more than 200 civil servants facing imminent job losses.
The demonstration turned ugly near the Capitol Building when Liberia National Police officers intercepted several hundred ministry workers marching from their Carey Street headquarters. Protesters carried the Liberian flag and chanted “We Want Peace” as they sought to petition lawmakers about the controversial handover of driver’s license and vehicle registration services scheduled for July 13.
Police in full riot gear began striking the unarmed protesters without warning. “They came at us swinging batons and firing tear gas canisters directly into the crowd,” recounted one ministry official who suffered head wounds during the melee. The violence left a few of the protesters requiring hospital treatment for various injuries sustained in the chaotic scramble to flee police.
The Ministry of Transport was created by an Act of the National Legislature on August 25, 1987, to formulate and administer the transport, insurance, and maritime regulations and policies of Liberia. These include the oversight responsibility for the execution of policies relating to land, sea, and air transport services operating within the country. It is also mandated to ensure strict adherence to insurance standards and regulations in collaboration with insurance agencies operating in the country.
The Ministry has two Departments containing several divisions each namely: the Department of Administration and Management and the Department of Land Transport Regulatory Services. The Department of Land Transport Regulatory Services contains the Division of Driver’s License, Division of Motor Vehicle & License plate, Division of Motorcycle & Tricycle, Division of Inspectorate, Division of Land Transport, Division of Waterway & Rail, and the Division of Road Safety Secretariat.
With the coming of the Liberia Traffic Management (LTM) and its responsibility of issuing driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations across Liberia, the functions of the Division of Driver’s License, Division of Motor vehicle & License plate at the Ministry of Transport appear crippled. It is from this background that tens of employees from these departments and divisions protested early Thursday, in a bid to seek clarity from the Liberian Legislature.
The wounded Training and Development Director, her blouse still stained with blood, gave an account of the crackdown. “The Ministry of Transport employees decided to ask about a concession agreement that we were not told about. They told us on Monday the Ministry of Transport will close two of its revenue-generating arms [Division of Motor Vehicle & License plate and the Division of Driver’s License]. If you go to the Ministry now [Ministry of] Transport employees are being arrested and detained for nothing they have done. Just walking peacefully… coming to this House [of Representatives] to petition our lawmakers to investigate this bogus deal and Gregory Coleman sent his lawless armed men.”
She claimed, “265 of our employees will have nothing to do. Their justification is that we are on payroll so we should take the government money and do nothing. They call it justification and I get brutalized for standing up. I thought this government believe in the law. I thought they said the rule of law is one of their pillars. I thought they said transparency is one of their pillars. Where is the transparency if we will be brutalized? A mother, a Civil Service employee who has contributed ten years of her life to the Ministry of Transport.”
A small delegation of protesters managed to secure a brief meeting with House Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon and he promised to review their formal petition. However, Police authorities remained conspicuously silent when pressed for details about the situation. LNP Spokesperson Cecelia Clarke claimed to have no knowledge of the incident when contacted for comment, while Transport Ministry Communications Director Shadrack Brown refused to address the matter, citing lack of clearance from superiors.
LTM Commences July 13
Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman led a delegation to inspect the Liberia Traffic Management (LTM) headquarters in Paynesville early Wednesday morning, July 9, 2025. The visit formed part of final preparations ahead of LTM’s scheduled takeover of all driver’s licenses and vehicle registration services this coming Saturday, July 13.
During the facility tour, the police team thoroughly examined operational systems and held crucial discussions with LTM executives about transition readiness. The Liberia National Police released an official statement reaffirming their commitment to ensuring a seamless transfer of responsibilities that benefits all Liberian citizens. The notice specifically directed that beginning July 13, all valid driving documents must originate exclusively from LTM offices located near the SKD Sports Complex, warning that licenses or registrations obtained elsewhere would be deemed illegitimate and subject to police enforcement.
The police clarification provides some reassurance to motorists by confirming that documents issued before the July 13 deadline would maintain their validity until expiration. “This transition marks a pivotal step in Liberia’s pursuit of enhanced road safety, administrative accountability, and centralized traffic management,” the LNP statement emphasized while urging public cooperation with the impending changes. This action follows President Joseph Boakai’s recent public endorsement of the government’s concession agreement with LTM, solidifying the administration’s position despite ongoing controversies surrounding the arrangement.
The current concession traces back to 2018 when Liberia’s government first granted LTM exclusive authority to develop and manage the nation’s complete traffic management infrastructure. The sweeping agreement covered multiple critical systems including traffic violation processing, vehicle towing operations, urban parking solutions, automotive inspections, and driver certification programs. Additional provisions required LTM to establish specialized facilities for license plate production while implementing modernized systems for both driver licensing and vehicle registration nationwide.
This carefully structured concession faced unexpected complications in June 2020 when the Transport Ministry independently entered into a competing Public-Private Partnership with Modern Development Management Corporation (MDMC). The conflicting agreement assigned MDMC nearly identical responsibilities for vehicle registration and licensing systems, creating immediate legal tensions with LTM’s established contractual rights.
LTM management swiftly challenged what they viewed as a direct infringement on their legally protected concessions. After failed negotiation attempts, the company pursued formal legal action by filing a Petition for Declaratory Judgment against multiple parties including the Liberian government, MDMC, and the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment. The Civil Law Court initially dismissed the petition based on procedural technicalities related to arbitration requirements, prompting LTM to escalate their appeal to the Supreme Court where the matter remained unresolved throughout the remainder of former President Weah’s term.
The political transition in 2024 brought renewed attention to the lingering dispute when President Boakai’s administration ordered an urgent legal review of the competing contracts. Justice Ministry attorneys conducted an exhaustive analysis that ultimately determined the MDMC agreement unlawfully conflicted with LTM’s legislatively-ratified concession. Their formal opinion stressed that only the LTM contract carried full legal standing as it had been properly approved through legislative channels, unlike the MDMC arrangement which lacked similar ratification.
Based on these findings, the Justice Minister recommended immediate termination of all government dealings with MDMC, formal notification of the agreement’s invalidity, and full implementation of the original LTM concession terms. The Executive Mansion officially adopted these recommendations in October 2024, communicating the decision to both affected companies while directing relevant agencies to comply.
Legislative support for this resolution came in December 2024 when the Liberian Senate completed its own thorough investigation into the matter. Their December 17 report strongly reaffirmed LTM’s contractual rights while explicitly criticizing the Transport Ministry for improperly entering into the competing MDMC agreement. Senate leaders formally advised President Boakai to fully support LTM’s operations moving forward.
Despite these clear directives, observers noted the Transport Ministry appeared to disregard the established position when it published a December 2024 bid solicitation for services that directly overlapped with LTM’s mandated responsibilities. The controversial bidding process, which included license plate production and system automation components originally slated to run through January 2025, was abruptly terminated when the ministry removed the posting from its website – an action many interpreted as reluctant compliance following earlier defiance.
The matter reached its conclusion when President Boakai personally intervened through a formal communication to Transport Minister Sirleaf Tyler. The presidential directive left no room for interpretation, explicitly confirming the LTM agreement’s validity while ordering the Justice Minister to oversee its complete and immediate implementation across all government entities.
