Scores of employees at Liberia's Ministry of Transport are protesting what they call the unlawful outsourcing of critical government services to a private foreign firm, Liberia Traffic Management Inc. (LTMI).
The demonstrations, ongoing for several days, come in response to the activation of a controversial 25-year concession agreement that gives LTMI exclusive control over key services including vehicle registration, driver's licensing, traffic enforcement, toll collection and vehicle inspections--duties previously managed by the ministry.
The firm, reportedly led by Lebanese investor Dr. Imad Hajj, will receive 70% of all revenue generated from traffic-related services, with the Liberian government taking 30%, according to the agreement ratified in 2018 under former President George Weah and reactivated in early 2025 by President Joseph Boakai's administration.
"We go to work just to sit and chat. Our system has been disabled," one protester told reporters Tuesday, claiming more than 200 ministry employees have been rendered idle. Workers are demanding the cancellation of the deal and say the ministry was left out as a key stakeholder in the negotiations.
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The deal has drawn sharp criticism from Senator Momo Cyrus of Lofa County, chair of the Senate Committee on National Defense, warned that outsourcing biometric and geographic data to a foreign company poses a serious national security threat.
"National security is not for sale," Cyrus said, denouncing the revenue-sharing formula as "grossly unfair" and "economically reckless."
Protesters also accused Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman and Justice Minister Oswald Tweh of pushing the deal for personal gain. "Why are they giving our jobs to foreigners?" some chanted. "Gregory thinks this place is his farm."
Tensions have been further inflamed by a "go-slow" strike launched by commercial drivers on May 12 across Margibi, Bomi, Grand Cape Mount and Gbarpolu counties. Organized by the ECOWAS Transport Union and the Federation of Road Transport Union of Liberia (FRTUL), the strike highlighted complaints of arbitrary ticketing, excessive fines and night-time checkpoints.
Drivers report fines ranging from US $20 to $150--even when valid documentation is presented--and say they're often fined multiple times for the same violation by different officers.
Traffic Violation tickets
Peter Quaqua, former president of the Press Union of Liberia, recounted being ticketed for an "improper U-turn" and ordered to pay the $20 fine at a location labeled "S.F.E.U." at ELWA Junction. "To my surprise, it was actually the LTM office," he wrote on social media. "No one was there when I visited on Saturday--they don't work weekends."
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On May 20, gas tanker driver Luseni Barwor was fined L$4,000 for a faulty signal light and instructed to pay through LTM, not a commercial bank or the Liberia Revenue Authority as in the past. "This is unfair," he said.
Currently, LTM's ELWA Junction office is the sole payment point, causing logistical challenges for drivers outside Montserrado County.
The Transport Ministry's protesting employees are calling on President Boakai to urgently review or cancel the concession. Some employees allege the agreement was secretly altered to exclude the Ministry of Transport altogether.
