President Joseph Nyumah Boakai has imposed financial restrictions on the Liberia Telecommunications Authority’s (LTA) outgoing chairperson, Madam Edwina Crump Zackpah.
The restrictions, pending further notice, affect foreign travel, hiring new staff, contractors, or consultants, and purchasing capital assets/projects at the LTA.
Due to the executive’s financial restrictions, the LTA is visibly absent from the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA), which is taking place in neighboring Sierra Leone from 19 to 22 March 2024.
Liberia and Cape Verde are two countries noted to be absent so far.
Founded in 2002, WATRA is a consultative and collaborative body of Telecommunications Regulators in West Africa that aids and advances the development of telecommunications in the subregion and on the continent.
In 2017, LTA hosted and chaired the meeting in Monrovia. This year, Liberia is completely absent from the meeting due to the financial clampdown on the entity.
Former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was the first head of state to attend a WATRA meeting when Madam Angelique Weeks was chairperson of the LTA at the time.
Meanwhile, in the communication addressed to Madam Zackpah under the signature of Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Mr. Sylvester Grigsby, the LTA outgoing boss is instructed to desist from any spending outside of approved budget except allocations for daily essential operations that are already budgeted and approved.
Dated 8 March 2024, the communication instructs Madam Zackpah to ensure strict compliance with this mandate until further notice.
The Presidency said it issued the directive consistent with Madam Zackpah’s replacement and the ongoing Petition for a Writ of Prohibition she filed at the Supreme Court of Liberia challenging her replacement.
“… You are hereby instructed effective immediately, to desist from any spending outside of approved budget except allocations for daily essential operations that are already budgeted and approved,” the communication said.
“Additionally, restrictions are hereby imposed on all foreign travels, hiring of new staffs, contractors or consultants, and purchasing of capital assets/projects,” it noted.
