Development specialist Ambulah Mamey has sharply criticized a recent communication sent to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai by the Acting Chair of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA), Abdullah Kamara. In the letter, through Minister of State Sylvester Grigsby, Kamara urges President Boakai to approve a $525,000 payment to the five suspended LTA commissioners. According to Kamara, the payment is necessary to resolve the ongoing “standoff” at the LTA. This situation has come to a head after releasing an audit commissioned by the President.
Mamey’s condemnation of Kamara’s request stems from the audit findings, which revealed significant evidence of the misuse of public resources at the LTA. Among the findings, one of the most alarming was a payment made to Kamara himself for a “digital project,” a venture that Mamey argues falls outside the scope of a telecommunications regulator’s priorities. Mamey has called on President Boakai to approach the matter with careful judgment, emphasizing that the audit clearly implicated specific individuals, including Kamara, for financial misconduct. However, Mamey also pointed out that not all six commissioners were involved in the malpractices identified in the audit.
The request for the $525,000 payment has raised eyebrows given the context of the audit’s findings. Kamara’s letter to President Boakai suggests that the payment is necessary to end the standoff within the LTA, but Mamey questions the rationale behind such a large sum being paid out when the integrity of the authority’s operations remains in question. The proposal includes a $125,000 payment for suspended Chairperson Madam Edwina C. Zackpah, while the other four commissioners would each receive $100,000, bringing the total amount to $525,000.
Mamey urged President Boakai to exercise wisdom in dealing with the situation, suggesting that the President should not treat all commissioners as a group but instead act based on the specific findings of the audit. “It is reasonable for Kamara to attempt to move past the audit findings, but it is not appropriate for him to use public funds to end a standoff he contributed to,” Mamey said. “The president must separate the ‘sheep from the goats,’ holding those implicated accountable while engaging those not in the next steps for the LTA.”
In April 2024, President Boakai took decisive action by suspending the entire Board of Commissioners of the LTA, including Zackpah, Israel Akinsanya, Zotawon D. Titus, James Gbarwea, and Osborne K. Diggs. The suspension followed allegations of financial mismanagement and other irregularities within the authority. Since then, the situation has remained in flux, with the President’s audit shedding light on further issues within the LTA.
The proposed payments have prompted concerns about the appropriateness of such compensation in light of the serious allegations of financial wrongdoing. Critics argue that approving such a large sum of money could undermine efforts to maintain accountability and transparency in Liberia’s public institutions. Moreover, there are concerns that Kamara’s own involvement in the questionable “digital project” raises questions about his leadership and accountability.
