Monrovia – The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) has confirmed that it is assessing a corruption complaint against officials of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA), a development that could lead to a full-scale investigation into allegations surrounding the Authority’s proposed telecommunications traffic monitoring arrangement with NUMTEL Liberia.
LACC Executive Chairperson Cllr. Alexandra K. Zoe confirmed that the complaint, filed by The People’s Newspaper journalist Afred Togba, has been forwarded to the Commission’s Investigation Unit for preliminary assessment to determine whether sufficient grounds exist to proceed with a formal investigation.
“We received a complaint from one Afred Togba of The People’s Newspaper. I can confirm that I received the communication from him,” Cllr. Zoe said.
She explained that every complaint undergoes an initial assessment before investigators recommend whether a full investigation should be launched.
“The thing about these complaints is that when they come in, we first send them to the Investigation Unit to do an assessment. When the assessment is done, it is to determine if there is probable cause to go into a full-scale investigation,” she said.
According to Zoe, the matter has now been formally lodged before the Commission.
“After the assessment has been done, the full Board will meet to determine whether to proceed with a full-scale investigation,” she added.
The LACC Chairperson also disclosed that Togba’s complaint was not the first concerning the LTA, revealing that the Commission had previously received another complaint from a different individual, whom she declined to identify.
Allegations
In his complaint, Togba alleged that members of the LTA Board of Commissioners improperly received substantial payments from NUMTEL Liberia, the company the Authority intends to engage as it seeks to replace Telecom International Alliance (TIA), whose telecommunications traffic monitoring concession with the Government of Liberia remains the subject of legal and legislative debate.
The complaint also alleges that NUMTEL has received payments despite allegedly not carrying out operational work during the past six months.
Neither the LACC nor the complainant has publicly produced evidence supporting those allegations, and no findings have been made against the LTA or its commissioners.
LTA Responds
The LTA has previously rejected suggestions that telecommunications revenues have been improperly handled.
During a recent press conference, LTA Chairman Clarence Massaquoi said funds collected from mobile network operators are being maintained in an escrow account pending further government action.
Responding to questions about the amount of money collected since the suspension of the previous traffic monitoring arrangement, Massaquoi declined to disclose the figures publicly.
“If they want me to say where the money is, I will not say it. I will report to the President,” Massaquoi said.
“I can only assure the public that this Board of Commissioners… I can vouch for the character of each of my colleagues. All funds generated, today as I stand on this podium, if I were to receive a call from the Chief Executive to press the button to transfer, I will do it right from this point.”
His remarks have attracted criticism from transparency advocates, who argue that revenues generated by a public regulatory authority should be subject to public disclosure and legislative oversight rather than being treated solely as an executive matter.
Unanswered Revenue Questions
The controversy comes as the LTA has yet to publish comprehensive figures showing how much revenue has been generated through telecommunications traffic monitoring since the suspension of the previous monitoring arrangement.
The absence of publicly available revenue data has fueled growing calls for greater transparency over the collection, management, and eventual disposition of telecommunications regulatory funds.
A Disputed Concession
Liberia’s telecommunications traffic monitoring program was introduced to strengthen regulatory oversight, combat international call bypass fraud, improve revenue assurance, and verify regulatory fees paid by licensed telecommunications operators.
In 2018, the Government entered into an agreement with Telecom International Alliance (TIA), an American company, to provide those services. The arrangement was later amended and, in 2022, converted into a concession agreement ratified by the National Legislature.
The concession authorized TIA to deploy an independent telecommunications traffic monitoring platform capable of collecting and analyzing traffic data from licensed operators to improve regulatory oversight and revenue verification.
In 2024, the Ministry of Justice issued a legal opinion concluding that the concession remained valid and enforceable unless declared otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Legislature Recommended Renegotiation
Following President Joseph Boakai’s decision to suspend the concession pending further review, lawmakers conducted an extensive examination of the agreement.
Rather than recommending its cancellation, a Joint Legislative Committee concluded that the Government should renegotiate the concession in accordance with its dispute resolution provisions.
The committee also urged the Government to suspend negotiations involving any competing traffic monitoring arrangement while the legal status of the TIA agreement remained unresolved.
Lawmakers noted that previous disputes involving major concession agreements—including those with ArcelorMittal Liberia and Firestone—had been resolved through renegotiation rather than unilateral termination, preserving investor confidence and Liberia’s contractual credibility.
Broader Questions
The complaint now before the LACC emerges amid broader public debate over the LTA’s management of telecommunications traffic monitoring.
In recent months, industry observers have questioned the Authority’s technical capacity to independently monitor telecommunications traffic following the suspension of the TIA system. Telecommunications specialists have argued that effective monitoring requires secure network integration, licensed software, real-time analytical platforms, and continuous technical support—not merely physical monitoring equipment.
Those concerns, together with calls for greater transparency over telecommunications revenues and the future of the monitoring regime, have placed the LTA under increasing public scrutiny.
Should the LACC determine that probable cause exists, the matter would proceed to a full investigation, potentially adding another layer of official scrutiny to one of Liberia’s most closely watched regulatory disputes.
