The decision by the Boakai administration to activate the long-dormant and widely criticized 25-year concession agreement with Liberia Traffic Management Inc. (LTM) is nothing short of a dangerous betrayal of public trust. Effective Wednesday, July 16, 2025, control of Liberia’s traffic management system has officially been handed over to a foreign-backed private company, stripping the nation’s sovereignty over one of its core public functions, transportation regulation.
This editorial forcefully condemns this ill-conceived decision, which reflects not only poor judgment but also a disturbing disregard for the institutional integrity of Liberia’s public sector. That such a deal, conceived under the controversial administration of former President George Weah and rejected by critical government institutions, could be revived and endorsed by President Joseph Boakai is deeply troubling. It raises legitimate concerns about the extent to which this government is willing to prioritize external interests over public accountability, national security, and citizen welfare.
LTM has now assumed sweeping powers that include control over vehicle registration, driver’s licensing, toll collection, the issuance and enforcement of traffic citations, and even truck management across Liberia. In effect, this foreign-linked entity will function as a parallel government agency, with the authority to enforce laws, collect revenues, and penalize Liberian citizens, all while working “in coordination” with the Liberia National Police. How can a government that campaigned on transparency, reform, and patriotism so casually surrender such critical authority?
Let us be clear: this is not a modernization initiative. It is privatization disguised as reform. No democratic government with respect for its own institutions should outsource such a vital responsibility, especially not for a staggering duration of 25 years. What precedent does this set for future governance? Will we next see our ports, police, or even the judiciary outsourced under the same pretense of “efficiency”? If inefficiency or corruption in public agencies is the justification, then it is the government’s duty to reform those agencies, not auction them off to the highest bidder.
The fact that this agreement was stalled for nearly six years due to institutional pushback from the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Justice, and the Liberia National Police should have been a warning to the Boakai administration. These are not minor bureaucratic scuffles. These were serious and principled objections raised by institutions that understand the implications of ceding such power to an unaccountable private firm. Yet, those red flags have been willfully ignored.
What is even more infuriating is the administration’s lack of transparency in communicating the revised terms of the agreement to the public. What changes were made, if any, since the original deal was shelved in 2018? Has LTM been subjected to performance audits, public hearings, or competitive bidding processes? What mechanisms are in place to prevent abuse, ensure data privacy, and protect citizens’ rights? These are not rhetorical questions; they are the very questions a government committed to transparency must answer before signing off on such an enormous concession.
It is also alarming that this handover has taken place during a time when Liberia faces mounting public frustration over service delivery, high unemployment, and worsening infrastructure. Instead of investing in local capacity to reform and empower the Ministry of Transport and its affiliated agencies, the government has chosen to enrich a foreign entity at the long-term expense of the Liberian people.
We must also ask: who profits from this deal? Who are the real owners and beneficiaries of LTM? How much revenue will be generated annually under this concession, and how much of it will actually return to the Liberian treasury? The public has a right to know whether this is simply a repackaged scheme to exploit national resources under the guise of public-private partnership.
Liberians have lived through decades of bad contracts and fraudulent concessions, including those in logging, mining, fishing, and telecommunications. These deals often promise reform, modernization, and revenue, but rarely deliver. Instead, they leave communities dispossessed, government institutions weakened, and ordinary citizens burdened. This LTM agreement appears no different, and if history is any guide, it will do more harm than good.
President Boakai was elected on a platform of change and responsible leadership. But this decision strikes at the very heart of those promises. It smacks of political expediency and bureaucratic laziness. Worse, it cedes national responsibility to a company with no clear mandate from the people. That the Deputy Minister of Information, Daniel Sando, would confirm the launch of this agreement without a clear public dialogue or parliamentary oversight is a disgrace to democratic governance.
We call on President Boakai to immediately suspend the implementation of this agreement and to subject the entire LTM concession to an independent, transparent review. Let the Legislature and the Liberian people have their say. Let civil society organizations, transport unions, and legal experts weigh in. Anything less would represent a grave insult to the democratic principles the President claims to uphold.
The Liberian people did not elect this administration to be custodians of corporate interests. They elected it to rebuild the nation, not to sell it off bit by bit under the banner of reform. If this deal stands, it will be remembered not as a moment of progress, but as the day Liberia surrendered part of its sovereignty for a quick fix that could cost generations.
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