–Transport Ministry Employees Urge President Boakai, Say Gov’t Will Lose Millions
By Jerromie S. Walters & Vaye Abel Lepolu
Monrovia: Hundreds of Ministry of Transport (MOT) employees staged protests on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, demanding that President Joseph Boakai intervene in the controversial concession agreement with Liberia Traffic Management (LTM).“We are calling on President Joseph Boakai to reverse this decision before it causes irreparable harm,” the aggrieved MOT employees urged. They warned that the deal could cost Liberia over $185 million in lost revenue over 25 years while jeopardizing 200 Liberian jobs. Amid the existence of the Transport Ministry, the LTM has taken full charge of issuing driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations across Liberia, cordially with the Ministry of Justice and the Liberia National Police (LNP).
Under the 2018 agreement, LTM—a Lebanese-owned company assumed 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. But for the workers of the Ministry of Transport, they say the government will forfeit over US$185 million with in 25 years of the contract.
Over 25 years, the Lebanese company, Liberia Traffic Management, is expected to provide the government with USD 40 million, while the Ministry of Transport is projected to generate USD 225 million during the same timeframe. The Ministry of Transport generates approximately USD 9.1 million annually a year. With the LTM taking up these key functions, the agreement requires them to contribute USD 1.5 million to Liberia every year. However, within every year Liberia is expected to lose US$7.6 million.
Besides, the concession agreement also puts over 200 Liberians’ jobs on the line. 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.
As the Liberia Traffic Management (LTM) takes over with its responsibility of issuing driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations, the functions of the Division of Driver’s License, Division of Motor Vehicle & License plate at the Ministry of Transport appear disabled. According to employees of these departments, they were asked to show up to work every day even after the LTM’s takeover today, and they would be paid as required. However, the employees are baffled about how long said will continue, especially when their departments will be shut down considering that the duties attached to them have been given to the LTM.
Now, they are calling on President to Intervene on the new Traffic Management Agreement that will Undermines 1987 Transport Act, Threatens Jobs and National Revenue. Addressing journalists during their peaceful assembly at the Ministry Tuesday, the MOT workers criticized the decision to transfer key functions of the Ministry of Transport to a private concessionaire.
“We are not politicians. We are technicians. But we believe that this is the only language the government understands, so we are speaking out. This concession is not only illegal it is demonic,” the protesters said.
They further alleged that the contract was structured to benefit foreign interests, pointing out that a previous Liberian company had successfully generated $48 million in just four years more than the entire 25-year value of the new deal. “Why would you hand over such a lucrative operation for only $40 million over 25 years? We are losing money and jobs,” he warned. “We have the equipment, the expertise, and the systems in place. We don’t need a foreign company to do what we’ve already been doing.”
The workers also raised national security concerns, referencing political affiliations and regional tensions involving the concessionaire. “This isn’t just about job loss. It’s about sovereignty and national interest,” the speaker said. They vowed to continue their protest, warning that the decision sets a dangerous precedent for undermining statutory institutions through non-transparent deals. “This is not just about us—it’s about the Liberian people. We are ready to stand our ground,” the technicians concluded.
It can be referenced that the Liberia Traffic Management (LTM) 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.
It was a chaotic experience in Central Monrovia on July 10, 2025, when peaceful protesting Transport Ministry employees met violent police resistance during their march against the 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.
Former Deputy Minister for Administration at Liberia’s Ministry of Transport, J. Ebenezer Kolliegbo, has criticized the government’s decision to transfer vehicle registration and driver’s licensing operations to the Liberia Traffic Management (LTM), a foreign-controlled private company. Kolliegbo, who previously oversaw the ministry’s administrative functions, expressed deep concern that this decision effectively strips the Transport Ministry of one of its most important and revenue-generating responsibilities.
Efforts to get a response from the Ministry of Transport or the concessionaire were unsuccessful.
