The joint committee of both houses, on Concession have concurred for the Concession agreement between the Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA) and the Telecommunication International Alliance (TIA) be renegotiated rather than its cancellation.
This followed a recent meeting of both houses after the president of Liberia, Joseph Boakai submitted the TIA concession to the house to due to some procedural errors.
Earlier, The Lower House voted for de-ratification, while the Senate called for renegotiation to address the government’s concerns. But after reading the agreement, a Joint Conference Committee was convened to reconcile the differences.
That renegotiation would place the Government in a better position to make the necessary changes.
In the reconciliation, the report also recommended lifting of the suspension on TIA, halting any new contracts for the same services while the concession remains valid, and engaging TIA in renegotiation rather than cancellation. They reached an agreement recently before going on break.
Many lawmakers see this mood as one in the right direction as cancellation of a concession would send a negative signal to the business community, both locally and internationally.
Many see it as in the right direction of the president’s ARREST agenda, in which they see the rule of law as a cardinal Part of his agenda that emphasized a commitment to upholding legal standards.
The committee’s report was also supported by the legal opinion of the Ministry of Justice.
Originally signed in 2018, the agreement was converted into a concession in 2022, ratified by the Legislature, signed into law by the President, and officially published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In 2024, the Ministry of Justice confirmed the concession’s validity, stating that, in the absence of a judicial determination to the contrary, the 2022 concession is “legal, valid, and enforceable.”
Some members of the committee are Albert Chie, Amara Konneh, and Darius Dillon, said that renegotiation would be a lawful and balanced approach, pointing out that the government has consistently honored other concessions such as LTMI, Arcelor Mittal, Firestone, CTN, and MedTech.
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