Liberia: Senate Enacts Ferry Transport Services Act

A bill seeking to establish a ferry transport service to be operated by the National Transit Authority has been enacted into law by the Liberian Senate. 

The bill, introduced by Sinoe County Senator Augustine Chea, is intended to address the transportation problem in the country, thus satisfying the purpose for which the Monrovia Transit Authority (MTA) Act was amended in 2007 to now be referred to as the National Transit Authority (NTA), so as to serve as a national transport provider.

Senator Chea lamented that since the NTA was established, it has not been able to serve the entire country due to what he called “impossibility of performance."

He maintained that many of the highways connecting Monrovia to most of the counties are deplorable and make it almost impossible for NTA buses to ply the routes, making it impossible for a large segment of the country to benefit from public transportation.

The bill, when enacted into law by the Legislature, will expand the scope of operation of the NTA to provide marine or waterway transportation using ferry boats as an alternative to buses, which cannot reach many parts of the country.

According to the bill, when also passed into law by the Legislature, the NTA shall not only acquire, equip, or manage the Ferry or Ferries, but also build passenger or Cargo Terminals in each county, as well as  maintenance facilities.