The Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA), is engulfed by crises, ranging from financial, administrative to compromises.
By Stephen G. Fellajuah & Emmanuel Wise Jipoh
Monrovia, Liberia, April 3, 2025 – A concerning internal turmoil has surfaced at the Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA), with several critical issues affecting its operations.
Tension between senior management and cocoa exporters, financial mismanagement, unresolved staff disputes, and corruption allegations all point to a deepening crisis within the organization.
In addition, export companies have accused LACRA’s Taskforce of harassment despite having proper registration and permits, which raises concern about fairness of its regulatory practices.
According to sources, there are also serious allegations regarding financial mismanagement, including unexplained disappearance of $354,510 in export royalties. This adds to the existing financial difficulties inherited from the previous administration.
Despite efforts to implement reforms, LACRA remains plagued by internal discord. Leadership conflicts and corruption allegations are destabilizing the agency, and the Board of Directors has yet to take significant action to address these issues.
LACRA employees are frustrated with low wages, lack of benefits, and unresolved grievances, particularly lack of response from Board Chair Josephine Francis. Infrastructure renovations are seen as superficial attempts to mask deeper, unresolved problems.
Workers are urging President Joseph Boakai to intervene and address corruption and other systemic issues at LACRA. They are calling for restoration of transparency, fair regulatory practices, and the enforcement of employees’ rights.
A 2024 audit by the General Auditing Commission (GAC) was conducted, but its findings remain unpublished. This lack of transparency further exacerbates the distrust among employees and the public.
But LACRA Director General Christopher Sankolo, rubbishes reports of financial mal-practices, and irregularities at the agriculture entity.
Online reports indicate financial mismanagement, especially a leaked 2024 General Auditing Commission (GAC) Audit reports that suggest that US$ 354,510 in export royalties went unaccounted for between September 2024 and February 2025, something that has rised tension between senior management and export companies involved in the cocoa trade.
But speaking to The NEW DAWN on Wednesday at his office, Director Sankolo said reports of financial mal practices are untrue and work of cheap propagandists from within the entity, who he says are against ordinance.
“These are just mere propagandists and farther from the truth; they are just people, who want to undermine the right things from being done”, he says.
“To set the records straight, when we took over, we observed leakages, with exporters and some staffers within were compromising with exporters, so we decided to conduct an internal export records review and there were some mis-feelings.
We received reports of some irregularities, while some staffers were conniving with exporters, and there was also information of six (6) Containers of Cocoa beans being smuggled out – over 300 tons and each ton is UD$50; just calculate how much, has been lost as royalties”, Sankolo explains.
“So, we couldn’t sit and watch any longer, as there were so many compromises, and we decided to review the internal export records and the Deputy for Operation, personnel, when we announced our actions, he cannot speak to me; when I call him, he cannot answer.”
Regarding a leaked audit report which revealed that US$354,510 in export royalties left the institution unaccounted for between September 2024 and February 2025, the LACRA boss expressed his openness to Audit, but disclosed that has been no audit before he took over in April 2023.
According to Mr. Sankolo, he met a bank balance of US$470, and his administration has been able to raise this amount to US$700,000 as the new bank balance.
