Grand Bassa County Electoral District #2 Representative, J. Clarence T. Banks, raised a red flag over what he described as a long-running “money laundering scheme” linked to the issuance of Central Tracking Numbers (CTN) for cargo entering Liberia.
By Emmanuel Weedee-Conway
In a communication addressed to the House Plenary, read on the first day of sitting of the second quarter of the 55th Legislature, Rep. Banks recalled that the controversial arrangement, which was established during the administration of former President George Weah through a company identified as Global Tracking and Maritime Solutions Inc., has soon become a money laundering scheme extorting unjustified money from business people.
He accused powerful politicians and business figures of initiating this set up to exploit importers and ordinary Liberians.
According to Rep. Banks, the company has allegedly been collecting substantial fees from importers bringing containers and Roll-On Roll-Off (RORO) cargo into Liberia.
“It is very saddening that since the end of our civil war… many well-connected politicians took advantage of our fractured citizens and put together a money laundering scheme which has extracted millions and millions, if not billions, of United States dollars,” the Grand Bassa lawmaker stated in his communication.
He claimed that importers are required to pay at least US$225, along with additional charges, to obtain a CTN before goods can be loaded onto vessels destined for Liberia.
At the same time, Rep. Banks, who reportedly underwent similar rigmarole recently while clearing his goods recently, points out that bureaucratic delays in securing the CTN often result in cargo missing scheduled shipments, forcing importers to incur extra warehousing and transportation costs.
The lawmaker argued that the additional costs associated with the CTN system have contributed to rising prices of goods across Liberia, placing hardship on ordinary citizens and slowing infrastructure development and post-war recovery efforts.
“It is Liberians that pay this money,” he asserted, adding that businesses ultimately transfer the costs to consumers through higher market prices.
As part of his request to Plenary, Rep. Banks called for the appearance of Mr. Herbert Y. Soper, identified in the communication as Director for Central African Business Development at GTMS, to answer questions regarding the operation of the CTN program.
Following deliberations, the Plenary of the House reportedly decided to summon several institutions and stakeholders connected to port operations and customs processes to appear next Tuesday.
Those invited include the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, customs brokers, APM Terminals, Global Tracking and Maritime Solutions Inc. (GTMS), and Medtech.
