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Home Editorial

No More National Embarrassment: Fix RIA Now, or Resign

by The Liberian Investigator
April 4, 2025
in Editorial
Reading Time: 3 mins read
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No More National Embarrassment: Fix RIA Now, or Resign

The events of March 25, 2025, must never happen again. The inexplicable power outage at Roberts International Airport (RIA)—our nation’s principal gateway to the world—was more than an unfortunate technical mishap. That a bird strike, provoked by garbage-induced scavengers near the airport’s transformer, could paralyze a key section of the terminal reveals just how deeply systemic our failures in governance, infrastructure, and environmental stewardship have become.

President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s swift response to launch a full-scale investigation and commission a high-level committee, chaired by National Security Advisor Cllr. Kofi Woods, is commendable. But let us be clear: commendation without action is meaningless. Liberia has had its fill of committees, reports, and promises. What we need now is accountability—unflinching, unsparing, and unpoliticized.

The facts, as laid bare by the testimony of LAA Deputy Managing Director Jonathan Enders and LEC Acting Managing Director Thomas Z. Gonkarwon, point to a cocktail of incompetence, neglect, and environmental mismanagement. From illegal garbage dumping by airport employees and nearby residents to the inadequacy of the airport’s power contingency systems, this was not an act of God—it was man-made, and someone must answer for it.

To claim that birds damaged the transformer due to poor sanitation is to confess a dereliction of duty. Who was responsible for environmental control? Why was the automatic transfer switch (ATS) so vulnerable, and where were the routine inspections that should have caught this before it became a crisis?

LEC’s recommendation for a complete overhaul of the power system, including a redesigned ATS and standby transformer, is wise. But why are we only now discussing resilience at one of our most critical national assets? Roberts International Airport should already have been a fortress of redundancy—impervious to minor shocks and built to the highest global standards.

Moreover, the revelation that unauthorized communities have encroached on airport land and created illegal dumpsites is infuriating. Where was the Liberia Land Authority? Where were the environmental enforcers? This is a grotesque failure of cross-agency collaboration. The result? A whole nation held hostage to darkness at its foremost international port of entry.

President Boakai’s resolve will now be tested not by the strength of his press releases, but by the boldness of his actions. Heads must roll—both administrative and technical. If this committee’s findings are buried in bureaucracy or dismissed by political maneuvering, then this administration will have squandered a vital opportunity to prove it is different from its predecessors.

The airport is a symbol of national pride and a barometer for global confidence in our country. Airlines and investors assess nations through the lens of infrastructure. What message did March 25 send? That Liberia’s most strategic facility can be disabled by birds and garbage? That incompetence is tolerated at the highest level?

Senator Saah Joseph’s Senate Joint Committee must be equally rigorous. Oversight is not a formality; it is a sacred duty. Witnesses remain under oath—and so must our conscience as a people. We expect both the legislative and executive branches to act decisively, publicly, and with the nation’s dignity in mind.

Let the cleanup begin—not just of the garbage near RIA, but of the rot within our governance systems.

Tags: Roberts International Airport
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