LIBERIA Port & Inland Waterway Bill: Did Legislature Cure President's Concerns?

By: Cyrus L Gray, Jr - Monrovia

December 9, 2026

Port Efficiency and Governance Reform in Liberia

In Liberia, seaports are not merely transport facilities; they are critical instruments of economic stability, revenue generation, governance reform, and national development. Their effective management is therefore central to the country’s economic resilience and long-term growth. However, when compared with leading West African ports such as the Port of Tema, Port of Abidjan, and Port of Lomé, the Freeport of Monrovia remains less efficient by most standard indicators. These regional hubs benefit from significantly higher cargo volumes, deeper drafts, advanced automation, stronger hinterland connectivity, and economies of scale that Liberia’s ports have not yet achieved.

The Freeport’s relative inefficiency is therefore not primarily a result of poor management, but of structural constraints. Liberia’s smaller market size, limited transit trade, weak road and rail networks, and low cargo throughput inherently limit operational leverage. Because many port efficiency benchmarks are volume-driven, smaller ports such as Monrovia are often disadvantaged in regional comparisons despite improvements in operations.

The Case for Autonomous Regional Ports

Ports outside Monrovia have remained largely underutilized due to limited economic activity, infrastructure deficits, and centralized control under the National Port Authority (NPA). Centralized decision-making has constrained responsiveness, delayed investment, and reduced the capacity of these ports to support regional economies.

Granting operational and financial autonomy to each port would allow management to respond directly to local economic conditions, align services with regional mining, agricultural, and trade activities, and pursue targeted partnerships and concessions. Autonomy would also reduce administrative bottlenecks, enabling faster procurement, maintenance, and engagement with port users.

Autonomous governance would further strengthen accountability by clearly linking performance outcomes to local management, while allowing ports to retain and reinvest modest revenues for basic sustainability. More broadly, decentralizing port governance would promote balanced regional development, reduce overreliance on Monrovia, and enhance national logistics resilience. While autonomy alone will not resolve all structural challenges, it is a necessary condition for transforming regional ports from inactive state assets into responsive, locally relevant development platforms.

Legislative Authority and Presidential Concerns

Both the Liberia Legislature and the President of Liberia have acknowledged the need for port sector reform. The President’s veto of the initial versions of the port reform bills was based on two principal concerns: inconsistencies in the naming of the proposed legislation and provisions that encroached upon the statutory mandate of the Liberia Maritime

Neto Zarzar Lighe Esq. Commissioner/CEO Liberia Maritime Authority

Authority (LMA) without corresponding amendments to existing maritime law.

Public debate subsequently questioned the legality of the Legislature’s effort to establish four autonomous seaport agencies. However, under Article 34 of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia, legislative authority is clearly vested in the Senate and House of Representatives to enact laws regulating commerce, navigation, ports, and public authorities, including the creation and reorganization of autonomous agencies. This authority has been exercised repeatedly, including through the Liberia Maritime Authority Act of 2010. There is therefore no constitutional defect in the Legislature’s enactment of a Ports and Inland Waterways Regulatory Authority law.

Institutional Mandates and Legislative Revisions

Under the 2010 Act, the LMA retains responsibility for maritime safety and security, vessel and seafarer regulation, enforcement of international maritime conventions, navigation rules, and maritime inspections. The President’s objections to the first version of the Ports Regulatory Bill were well-founded, as it duplicated maritime safety functions, claimed authority over IMO conventions, and explicitly amended the LMA Act in ways that would have weakened institutional coherence.

In response, the Legislature introduced substantial revisions. The revised bill removes enforcement authority over international maritime conventions, deletes powers relating to vessel inspection and personnel certification, reframes port security as compliance with LMA regulations, and introduces explicit coordination requirements with the LMA. The revised bill no longer directly amends or strips powers from the LMA Act.

Presidential Concern	Status
Structural inconsistencies	Corrected
Title vs content mismatch	Corrected
Maritime safety overlap	Deleted
IMO enforcement duplication	Deleted
Vessel inspection authority	Deleted
Port security duplication	Reframed under LMA compliance
Revenue overreach	Reduced to 5% port regulatory fee
Explicit amendment of LMA Act	Removed

Nevertheless, some functional overlap remains, as the new regulatory authority exercises oversight within port areas where maritime safety and port operations intersect. While this overlap is no longer unlawful, it creates a shared regulatory boundary that will require careful implementation to avoid operational conflict.

Conclusion and Policy Considerations

From a legal perspective, the Legislature acted within its constitutional authority, and the revised bill substantively addresses the President’s concerns. However, institutional risks remain, including regulatory fragmentation, ambiguity in oversight powers within ports, and the absence of a binding dispute-resolution mechanism between regulators.

To strengthen Liberia’s maritime governance framework, further policy measures may be warranted, including an explicit supremacy clause affirming LMA authority over maritime safety matters, mandatory inter-agency coordination protocols, and joint regulatory processes where port regulation intersects with navigational safety. Such measures would support decentralization while preserving legal clarity, regulatory coherence, and investor confidence.