Published: October 28, 2026
MONROVIA — Gbarpolu County Sen. Amara M. Konneh has asked the Senate to summon the National Port Authority, APM Terminals and five other port-sector actors to explain why containers bound for Liberia are spending more than 30 days at sea. He says these delays are keeping consumer prices high even as inflation falls and the Liberian dollar strengthens.
By Lennart Dodoo
In a letter to Senate President Pro Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, Konneh, a former finance minister, asked that the stakeholders appear before the full Senate, sitting as a Committee of the Whole, to address the complaints and present solutions.
“The inefficiencies and high costs at our ports are potentially a major driver of these sticky prices, thereby negating the gains of Government’s ongoing macroeconomic stabilization program under the IMF Extended Credit Facility,” Konneh wrote.
He said headline inflation has fallen to 4.6% and the Liberian dollar has gained against the U.S. dollar, yet “consumer prices remain stubbornly high.”
Sen. Konneh named the National Port Authority; APM Terminals Liberia, which operates the Freeport of Monrovia under a concession; MEDTECH Scientific Limited; Global Tracking and Maritime Solutions; the Customs Department of the Liberia Revenue Authority; the Ministry of Commerce and Industry; and the brokers union or Customs Brokers Association of Liberia.
According to the letter, importers and shipping agents say containers destined for Liberia now spend more than 30 days at sea before berthing at the Freeport, with most vessels routed to and queued at ports in Ivory Coast and Ghana.
“These delays are severely hurting business inventories, tying up working capital, leading to stock-outs, and imposing heavy demurrage costs.”
Sen. Amara M. Konneh, Gbarpolu County
Sen. Konneh’s letter attributes the delays to two alleged constraints at the Freeport: a lack of yard space for additional containers, and the inability of larger vessels to berth because dredging of the port basin and channel has been repeatedly delayed.
“These delays are severely hurting business inventories, tying up working capital, leading to stock-outs, and imposing heavy demurrage costs,” he wrote.
He said small and medium-sized businesses have been hit hardest.
Sen. Konneh also said importers face what he called “a multiplicity of opaque transaction costs and fees” charged by APM Terminals, MEDTECH, GTMS and others in the supply chain, and that those charges are passed on to consumers.
If the problems are not addressed urgently, he warned, they will undermine private-sector competitiveness, discourage investment and erode the purchasing power of ordinary Liberians.
He said the Senate wants clarity on the state of dredging, berthing, and yard capacity; the full schedule of fees charged at the port; and the immediate and medium-term steps being taken to decongest the Freeport and cut costs for businesses.
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