Africa-Press – Liberia. The Liberia Traffic Management Incorporated (LMTI), a foreign firm seeking to take over the management of the country’s traffic management system and usurp the function of the Ministry of Transport, has been caught in the crosshairs of the Liberian Senate for improper documentation.
Members of the Liberian Senate at its sitting on Thursday, July 24, voted to suspend LMTI’s operation before it could even begin, citing fraud and inconsistency.
LMTI, whose concession agreement has sparked waves of protests from Civil Servants at the Ministry of Transport, seeks to take over the issuance of driver’s licenses, vehicle registration, traffic inspections, and other functions that are exclusive to the ministry. The company’s operation, scheduled to take effect later this month or in early August, would result in nearly 300 job losses for civil servants.
However, their operations aside, it was revealed at the Senate on Thursday that the documents in the possession of LMTI are two separate agreements: one approved by the Senate and the other in the public domain.
Cape Mount County Senator Dabbah Varpileh, who brought the topic up for discussion during the Senate Plenary, argued that the concession document currently in the public domain is different from what they (Senate) ratified and sent to President Joseph N. Boakai.
Sen. Varpileh explained that the LMTI concession of 2018, which was ratified, differs significantly from the current contract.
” Therefore, I asked this senate to investigate this agreement and identify these issues as they relate to job and revenue and potential increments of service. In the past few days, protests have been held by those affected, and we urge the Executive to take a look at it. This was not implemented because of some of these issues,” she added.
Meanwhile, commenting on the LMTI documents, Margibi County Senator Nathaniel F. McGill, who was the Minister of State at the time the document was signed, stated that former President Weah never signed the LMTI concession agreement.
Sen. McGill further noted that the documents ratified by the Liberian Senate and sent to President Boakai for signing are different from the documents that the company is currently implementing, a point he said was also observed with the signature of former President George M. Weah, for which the CDC didn’t implement the concession.
” If the previous government that reached this concession itself declined to implement, why this government?” asked Sen. Findley of Grand Bassa County.
“Additionally, the agreement was not implemented, and the company went to court, later withdrawing the matter and sitting on it for years because they knew the concession had a problem,” he said.
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