Published: February 25, 2026
Monrovia – As the Ministry of Transport fights to remain in charge of vehicle management activities, particularly registration and licensing, Modern Development and Management Corporation (MDMC), a private vendor, has taken the Ministry to task amid fear that Liberia Traffic Management (LTM) would take charge of the delivery of the services.
Associate Justice Yussif D. Kaba, who is currently in chambers at the Supreme Court of Liberia, has cited the Ministry, through its Minister, Sirleaf R. Tyler, to appear on Friday, February 27, 2026, in response to a petition filed by the management of MDMC.
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The highest Court’s citation further stated that “By directive of his Honour Associate Justice presiding in chambers, you are hereby cited to a conference with his Honour on Friday, February 27, 2026, at the hour of 10.00 AM, in connection with the petition.’’
In a petition, the management of Modern Development Management Corporation (MDMC) petitioned the Supreme Court for a Writ of Prohibition to halt vehicle registration and driver’s licensing operations currently being conducted by the Liberia Traffic Management (LTM). The petition places LTM’s ongoing activities under intense legal scrutiny and sets the stage for what is described as a potentially far-reaching ruling on institutional authority and contractual enforcement within the public sector.
MDMC Asserts Contractual Control
In its filing, MDMC maintains that it holds a binding nine-year agreement with the Ministry of Transport, granting it exclusive rights to manage and implement specific aspects of vehicle registration and driver’s license production and administration. The further put the corporation as arguing that the agreement remains legally valid and enforceable, and that no parallel authority has been granted to LTM to duplicate or assume those responsibilities.
According to MDMC, any such actions amount to interference with an existing contractual arrangement backed by law. By seeking a Writ of Prohibition, MDMC is asking the Supreme Court to immediately restrain LTM from proceeding with what it describes as unauthorized operations pending final determination of the matter.
Dispute Traces Back to 2021 Judgment
The controversy is not new. In 2021, LTM challenged MDMC’s authority before the Civil Law Court. The court ruled in favor of MDMC, upholding the validity of its contract with the Ministry of Transport. Although LTM initially filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, the appeal was never pursued.
In 2024, LTM formally withdrew the appeal, effectively leaving the lower court’s ruling intact. MDMC now contends that the withdrawal settled the legal question and that LTM’s renewed involvement in vehicle registration and licensing contradicts an already affirmed judicial decision.
The matter has taken on additional weight due to provisions in the 2026 National Budget, enacted by the Legislature and approved by the President, which recognize the Ministry of Transport as the authorized body overseeing vehicle registration and driver’s license operations.
Legal analysts suggest that such Legislative acknowledgment reinforces the Ministry’s statutory mandate and lends further support to MDMC’s contractual claims.
The writ could have significant implications beyond the immediate dispute. A grant of prohibition would likely result in the suspension of LTM’s operations in the contested areas, reaffirming the primacy of contractual and statutory boundaries.
This legal challenge, according to research, comes amid sweeping reforms ordered by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, directing that all driver’s license and vehicle registration functions be transferred from the Ministry of Transport to Liberia Traffic Management Incorporated (LTMI) effective March 1, 2026. The reforms, announced in a February 16 directive signed by Samuel A. Stevquoah, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, have been described as one of the most significant overhauls of Liberia’s transport governance in decades.
According to the directive: “All operations within the Ministry of Transport connected to the issuance of driver’s licenses and vehicle registration will be closed and severed as of March 1, 2026, with the Inspectorate Division remaining the Ministry’s sole operational responsibility.”
This transition clears the way for LTM to assume full responsibility for driver licensing, vehicle registration, and related services under the existing Concession Agreement.
The handover follows years of disputes between LTM and the Ministry of Transport over a 25-year concession agreement signed in September 2018 with LTM, a U.S.-owned company tasked with modernizing Liberia’s traffic services. Although ratified by the Legislature in December 2018, the agreement stalled for several years before the Boakai administration.
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