Monrovia, Liberia – The proposal by the Liberian Senate to provide sovereignty to the country’s outlying ports has been rejected by the Board of Directors of the National Port Authority (NPA).
According to a press statement from the National Port Authority of Liberia dated August 1, 2024, granting autonomy to outstation ports may compromise the creation legislation of the NPA.
The National Ports Authority (NPA) was established as a state-owned business in 1967 by an Act of the National Legislature, and it underwent another alteration in 1970, as disclosed by the Board of Directors. Planning, managing, and developing all of Liberia’s public ports is its goal.
The NPA Board claims that it is authorized under the Act that created the port to regulate and oversee the operations of the Ports of Buchanan, Harper, Greenville, and the Freeport of Monrovia.
They contend that the Senate’s decision to grant authority to outstation ports is in direct opposition to and overlooks the special duties and obligations of the NPA, which include monitoring and controlling each port.
However, they have pushed the Legislature to rescind its plan to grant autonomy to outstation ports, claiming that decentralization is not the same as autonomy.
The Board declared that it strongly disagrees with the Senate’s assertion that certain ports’ inefficiencies are due to the centralization of their operations.
Claims made by the Legislature that the granting of port autonomy is intended to create jobs for locals in the outstation port areas have been deemed to be untrue and deceptive.
The Board argued that more than 95% of the present workers at these outstation ports are eligible county residents who work for the NPA, disputing the Senate’s findings.
The Senate Joint Committee’s suggestion to the President to issue an Executive Order to withdraw the NPA’s operational control of outstation ports violates the National Port Authority Act, as does the plan for expanded autonomy to create jobs locally.
The Board believes that the NPA’s Management, led by Sekou A. M. Dukuly, has demonstrated an unflinching commitment to the improvement of all the ports within its jurisdiction. The Board members called on the Legislature to allocate funds in the budget that will support the NPA’s efforts to address some of the operational and infrastructure issues that outstation ports face.
The Board noted that throughout the previous six years, port activities in Liberia’s southeast had entirely stopped, with facilities in ruins and operational capacity at an all-time low.
