Protest at Ministry of Transport

Protesting employees of the Ministry of Transport in Monrovia are kicking against a road traffic management deal between the Government of Liberia and a foreign firm.

By Stephen G. Fellajuah

 Monrovia, Liberia; July 23, 2025 – The controversy surrounding a concession agreement between the Government of Liberia and Liberia Traffic Management Inc. (LTMI) remains under intense public scrutiny, as employees of the Ministry of Transport (MoT), who risk losing their jobs if the deal is approved, protest here.

 Dozens of MoT staff gathered in front of the Ministry Tuesday, July 22, 2025, calling on the government to rescind the deal with LTMI, which they say threatens over 265 jobs and compromises national interests.

 According to the protesters, the Ministry currently generates approximately US$ 9.1 million annually, while the controversial agreement allows a Lebanese company, LTMI, to contribute only US$ 1.5 million per year.

 They contend that over the 25-year lifespan of the concession, the company is expected to contribute a total of US$ 40 million, compared to the Ministry’s projected US$ 225 million in revenue, if left under government’s control.

 “We are calling on the government to make a U-turn in the best interest of the Liberian people,” said Shadrach Brown, Director of Press and Public Affairs at the Ministry. “This is not just a financial issue, it’s a national security matter.”

Brown criticizes the decision to outsource critical services such as driver licensing, vehicle registration, and traffic enforcement to a foreign-owned company.

 He warns that turning over sensitive databases to a firm allegedly linked to foreign interest groups, including Hezbollah, poses a threat to Liberia’s digital and geopolitical security.

 “This move could damage our relationship with the United States and our longstanding ally, Israel,” Brown told reporters. “By crafting a concession using the outdated 1972 Police Act instead of the Ministry’s statutory mandate from 1987, the government is not just wrong, it’s being devilish, satanic, and demonic”, he argues further.

 He also cites civil service concerns, pointing to CSA (Civil Service Agency) standing orders that any position rendered “dominant” would be made redundant within three months. Stripping the Ministry of its Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), which employs 265 people, leaves the future of those workers uncertain.

 The outcry has also reached the Legislature. Lofa County Senator Momo Cyrus, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Defense, Intelligence, Security, and Veteran Affairs, has written the Liberian Senate, requesting that the Minister of Justice and the Inspector General of Police, Gregory O. Coleman, be summoned for questioning.

 In his communication, read during open session on Thursday, July 17, 2025, Senator Cyrus expressed grave concern about the national security implications of outsourcing traffic management to LTMI.

 “While efforts to enhance road safety and efficiency are commendable,” Senator Cyrus wrote, “granting a foreign entity control over vehicle registration, driver licensing, enforcement, and other key traffic operations raises significant security and sovereignty concerns.”

 Under the concession agreement, LTMI would assume responsibility for a broad range of services, including vehicle registration and licensing, traffic ticket management, vehicle towing and impounding, city parking enforcement, vehicle inspection, driver testing and certification, oversight of freight and trucking, and operation of Motor Vehicle offices.

 Critics argue that ceding this control to a private foreign firm compromises national sovereignty, threatens data privacy, and potentially exposes Liberians’ sensitive personal information to unauthorized access or misuse.

 As the debate over the LTMI deal continues, calls for its revocation grow louder, both from within the Ministry and chambers of the 55^th Legislature. Editing by Jonathan Browne