By Vaye Abel Lepolu
MONROVIA, Liberia – The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) has welcomed the Government of Liberia’s recent actions against public officials implicated in the country’s largest narcotics trafficking investigation but says greater transparency, broader public involvement, and sustained institutional reforms are needed to restore public confidence.
Speaking at a press conference in Monrovia on Wednesday, Executive Director Anderson Miamen praised President Joseph N. Boakai’s decision to suspend, dismiss, and order the prosecution of government and law enforcement officials linked to the ongoing drug trafficking investigation.
Additionally, the action follows two major narcotics seizures in June and July 2026 involving approximately 4.2 metric tons of illegal drugs with a combined estimated street value of more than US$336 million, making them the largest drug seizures in Liberia’s history.
However, officials affected by the government’s action include senior personnel from Roberts International Airport (RIA), the Liberia National Police, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), and other government institutions.
Meanwhile,CENTAL commended the Joint Security Team for pursuing the investigation and credited sustained pressure from the media, civil society organizations, and citizens for encouraging authorities to disclose the identities of persons of interest.
However, Miamen argued that the magnitude of the drug seizures exposes serious weaknesses within Liberia’s security and border control institutions.
“The dismissal of senior security officials is not merely a personnel matter,” he said. “It demonstrates that critical national security systems were compromised at multiple levels. This is a governance failure before it is a criminal one.”
In an emphases,CENTAL expressed concern over what it described as limited public disclosure regarding the investigation, warning that delayed updates and speculation about the involvement of additional state and non-state actors could undermine public confidence.
The organization called on the government to regularly inform the public about the progress of the investigation while ensuring that all individuals connected to the drug trafficking network, regardless of status or position, are thoroughly investigated and prosecuted.
CENTAL also urged authorities to adopt competitive recruitment and rigorous vetting procedures for appointments within the security sector and to introduce periodic rotation of security personnel to reduce opportunities for corruption and conflicts of interest.
Additionally, the organization recommended that international partners, civil society organizations, and other independent stakeholders be included in ongoing investigative efforts to strengthen the credibility and impartiality of the process.
At the same time,CENTAL congratulated the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) after Liberia earned an 80 percent score in the 2026 Validation Report measuring implementation of the 2023 Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Standard
The organization through the executive director Mr.Miamen described the achievement as an important milestone reflecting improvements in public access to extractive sector information, stronger public engagement, and better alignment of transparency efforts with national development priorities.
Despite the positive rating, CENTAL cautioned that significant challenges remain.
The organization noted that the validation report identified inconsistencies in production and revenue data, incomplete implementation of beneficial ownership disclosure, and weaknesses in data assurance systems. It also highlighted recommendations calling for greater transparency regarding the environmental and social impacts of mining activities.
CENTAL emphasized that the validation score should not be viewed as an end in itself but as a measure of progress requiring sustained commitment.
The CENTAL boss called on LEITI to publish a costed and time-bound action plan to address the report’s recommendations and urged the Legislature and development partners to provide the necessary resources for implementation.
He further appealed for greater transparency and accountability in the negotiation, renegotiation, monitoring, and oversight of extractive sector contracts to ensure that Liberia’s natural resources deliver maximum benefits to its citizens.
