Published: January 16, 2026
MONROVIA— Members of the Dock Workers Union of Liberia (DOWUL) on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, staged a peaceful protest at Capitol Hill, urging President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to veto two recently passed bills that would grant autonomy to Liberia’s ports and decentralize port management across the country.
The demonstration brought together dock workers from the National Port Authority (NPA), many carrying placards condemning legislation approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Protesters warned the measures could weaken the NPA’s centralized structure and threaten jobs and revenue-sharing arrangements that support smaller ports.
Some placards directly targeted senior lawmakers, accusing them of backing legislation the union views as harmful.
“Nyongblee Kangar Lawrence, Darius Dillon, Thomas P. Fallah — this bill is evil,” protesters chanted.
Other messages warned of economic hardship if the bills are signed into law.
“This bill if passed will take food from the mouth of many Liberians,” one placard read.
The union’s petition was formally read aloud by Sonzai Kelvin Diahn, secretary of DOWUL Local #1 at the Freeport of Monrovia.
Union warns of economic risks
In a press statement dated Jan. 15, 2026, the Workers Union of the National Port Authority said it strongly opposes the Liberia Ports Authority Act and the Liberia Sea and Inland Ports Decentralization and Modernization Act, both currently awaiting executive action.
The union argued that granting autonomy to individual ports would undermine the centralized system created in 1967, when the Legislature established the NPA to manage Liberia’s public ports under one administrative framework.
According to the union, the Freeport of Monrovia — which it said accounts for about 95 percent of Liberia’s maritime throughput — generates the bulk of revenue used to sustain smaller outstation ports, including Buchanan, Greenville and Harper.
The union warned that port autonomy would sever this financial cross-subsidy, leaving smaller ports struggling to cover operational costs, maintain infrastructure and retain workers.
Infrastructure and pension concerns
The statement also raised concerns about pension liabilities, noting that under a decentralized system, individual ports would be responsible for retirement benefits owed to long-serving workers — despite what the union described as limited financial capacity at outstation ports.
DOWUL cited aging infrastructure and low economic activity outside Monrovia as further evidence that Liberia is not ready for autonomous port operations.
The union cautioned that even the Freeport of Monrovia faces challenges financing dredging and modernization, and warned that smaller ports could face rapid decline without centralized support from the NPA.
Executive Mansion acknowledges petition
Macdalla Cooper, political adviser in the Office of the President, received the union’s statement on behalf of President Boakai and acknowledged receipt, while noting the form in which it was submitted.
“Honorable Secretary General, on behalf of the Executive Mansion, and the President of the Republic of Liberia, His Excellency Joseph Nyuma Boakai, whom I represent here today, I have received your press release,” Cooper said.
She sought to reassure the dock workers that the president would consider their concerns.
“The President happens to be a wise man who exercises wisdom in his leadership,” Cooper added.
Cooper said she would formally submit the statement to the Executive Mansion and notify the union of the president’s response.
“So, rest assured, I am committed to walking up to the mansion, recording this in the database, and presenting it to the President,” she said. “I have nothing more to say, but you will hear back from the President.”
Discussion about this post