Monrovia — All is not well between the Managing Director of the National Port Authority (NPA) Sekou A.M. Dukuly and Senate President Pro-Tempore, Nyonblee Kangar Lawrence.
The bad blood is brewing from a legislation making ports under the NPA autonomous much to the dislike of Director Dukuly, who expresses frustrations against Pro-Temp Kangar Lawrence over the passage of a bill that seeks to establish a Sea Port Authority that will grant autonomy to smaller ports across the country and in effect, scratch the power of the National Port Authority that he presently heads.
The Liberian Senate on Tuesday, November 19, 2024 controversially passed into law a bill seeking to create the Liberia Sea Port Regulatory Authority and the Liberia Sea Port Decentralization, thereby granting ports across the country autonomy.
The bill, when concurred by the House of Representatives, will provide for the regulation and sustainable development of Seaports and Inland Ports' operations and services in Liberia. It will also facilitate a safer, orderly, and transparent development of port facilities and services and other purposes.
The Senate made the decision following a recommendation by the Joint Committee on Public Corporation and Judiciary, Human Rights, Claims, and Petitions.
The bill is consistent with the decentralization strategy of the Government, which includes but is not limited to, decentralization of the Management and operation of the four seaports that had been managed by the National Port Authority, including the Freeport of Monrovia, the Port of Buchanan, Port of Greenville, and the Port of Harper, respectively.
However, speaking in an interview with The NEWDAWN over the weekend in his Office on Bushrod Island, Director Dukuly said arguments provided by the Senate for the enactment of the bill are marked with flaws and are incorrect, purely meant to support selfish desire of few people.
He names nobody but according to him, it's too early for the Senate to remove the rug from under his administration, being fully cognizant that ports in Liberia lack facilities and best practices to become self-sustainable.
He notes that after the decision was made by the Senate, he spoke with some senators, expressing his disagreement privately, why ports should not be granted autonomy.
"I have communication; I have discussed with lots of them and they will tell you I'm sorry; we just have to do it because we don't want to disagree with the Pro-Temp. Fine. Is that how you're going to make national decision because you don't want to disagree with the Pro-Temp? I will not gross [disrespect] you. But I can tell you that the arguments are flaws", Mr. Dukuly counters.
The NPA boss clarifies that he is not against outstation ports becoming autonomous; rather what he wants are facilities and infrastructures that are best suited with international standard and development to make them sustainable when granted autonomy.
MD Dukuly continues that he is frustrated over the way things are going and if he were to tell anyone that he is not stunned by those actions, he would be lying.
Providing suggestion for a potential mitigation of the process, he reveals that within coming days, he will engage the Executive and the Speaker of the House of Representatives since there is now a clarity on the speakership, concerning the bill and how it's not intended to boost job opportunity but rather to please some political actors.
"We were talking to the House before that leadership issue. Now, that it getting some clarity, we will be talking to the Speaker on where our positions are and we will talk to the President at the end of the day, who will make the final decision on what he wants. We trust his decision for the country. So, we leave it with the House."
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He notes that there are even some legislators who don't understand there is a Port Director here in Monrovia, and some of them call him Port Director.
"But, at the end of the day, they made decision that they think is in the best interest of the country. So, do I believe their decision? Of course not. Now, our goal is to educate the Executive and make the President understands the overall establishment of the NPA. I think one thing that the President has stressed over and over is best practices. We are also going to be engaging the Speaker of the House of Representatives to make them understand that this is not about opportunity; rather, political point", Mr. Dukuly says.
