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By Lewis S. Teh Monrovia, Liberia; October 28, 2025 - Finance and Development Planning Minister, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, has challenged the team at the National Port Authority to do more than plan; to ensure that such plans are implemented to positively help Liberia. “Today as we launch this five-year strategic development plan, it is our hope and expectation that this plan will help Liberia develop”, Minister Ngafuan emphasized. He said, in every planning, thinking, or strategizing, some will think you’re doing nothing, but if you do not plan well, you will fail well, adding, “It’s one thing to do the plan, it’s another to work the plan.” Serving as Keynote Speaker Monday, October 27, 2025, at the official launch of the National Port Authority (NPA) five-year Strategic Plan (2025–2030), he commended the NPA for engaging Liberian consultancy firms in crafting the strategic plan, describing it as a “new day for Liberia.” “How do they become strong if they aren’t allowed to get contracts?” he inquired, stressing the necessity of empowering Liberian experts to reinforce national institutions.Minister Ngafuan connected the NPA’s newest plan with the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID), saying the more efficient Liberia’s ports are, the closer the country is to national economic progress. “Operational efficiency at the port helps every Liberian,” he said. “Service costs are reduced when we enhance turnaround time, and that’s in turn a measure to relieve the bread-and-butter issues affecting ordinary citizens.”For his part, the Managing Director of the NPA, Sekou A. M. Dukuly, called the plan “a bold move on port transformation” and a key step toward achieving Liberia’s economic prospects. The $550 million plan is built on five strategic pillars, which are termed RESET: Reform Governance, Enhance Efficiency, Strengthen Financial Management, Establish Inland Terminals, and Transform Infrastructure. “Our ports have been treated for so long as just revenue collection points. Today, we are changing that narrative,” Dukuly said. The NPA’s RESET agenda outlines an ambitious roadmap to modernize Liberia’s port governance regime, modernize critical infrastructure, and enhance operational efficiency through digital transformation and automation. The framework, according to him, seeks to facilitate the establishment of inland container terminals to alleviate congestion at the Freeport of Monrovia and to operate the regional trade corridors with neighboring countries like Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire. The new plan is to lead Liberia’s ports “from maintenance to modernization, from dependency to diversification, from isolation to a united port system.”Dukuly stressed the plan’s inclusive approach, based on sound evidence, and aligned to the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID). “We aim to facilitate trade and manage Liberia’s ports with efficiency, transparency, and commercial excellence," said Dukuly. He also expressed gratitude to Minister Ngafuan for his continual support in driving the government’s development priorities through its strategic investments in infrastructure.The NPA Managing Director reaffirmed the Authority’s commitment to providing 15 to 20 percent of its annual revenue to a newly established Port Infrastructure Investment Fund that shall provide funding for future development of the Port.The formal launch was graced by Key stakeholders, including Rev. J. Luther Tarpeh, Chairman of the NPA Board of Directors, Head of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority, Clarence Massaquoi, other senior government officials, port users, representatives of the private sector, and development partners. Editing by Jonathan Browne
