The Civil Society Network of Liberia (CSNL) has described as “erroneous and misleading allegations” of financial irregularities and legal violations contained in the General Auditing Commission (GAC) Report in the National Port Authority’s (NPA) contract with Global Maritime Tracking Systems (GMTS) for managing the Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) program.
In its March 2025 Audit Report covering July 1, 2018, to October 31, 2024, on the GTMS Contract with the government through the NPA, the GAC claimed that the GTMS Contract did not follow required procurement procedures with no payment record for US$3 million initial investment; that the audit found “no evidence” that GTMS paid US$2.15 million in throughput fees over five years, including US$50,000 in 2020, US$250,000 in 2021, US$370,000 in 2022, and US$580,000 in 2023, and an additional US$900,000 in 2024 under the current Unity Party (UP) administration.
The CSNL, therefore, wants to fundamentally establish that GTMS entered into a legal contract with the government in 2018, with the initial investment of US$3 million.
“It is unfortunate that the GAC auditors did not capture this initial investment portfolio as investment expenditure documents in our possession show that GTMS met this requirement.”
The CSNL’s investment also established that contrary to the GAC findings that the audit found ‘no evidence’ that GTMS paid US$2.15 million in throughput fees over five years, including US$900,000 to the current UP-led government, “payment records in our possession show that the company paid all throughput fees to the NPA, as legal representative of the government per the contract. We are left to believe that the GAC auditors did not do due diligence by omitting the payment of throughput fees made by GTMS directly to the NPA management over the course of the company’s operations.”
The CSNL wonders as to how could GAC be recommending NPA to account for US$2,150,000 in throughput fees for the period from 2020 to 2024, if sad amount have not been remitted by GTMS as required by the terms and conditions of the contract.
“The silence of the NPA management on the GAC audit findings clearly support the fact that the NPA received the US$2.15 million remittance from GTMS. It is also misleading for the audit findings to also call for full settlement of arrears of throughput fees by GTMS to NPA when the company has adhered to the approved payment plan over the years.”
“In fact, NPA performs monthly reconciliation between throughput fees as required by the contract and actual throughput fees remitted by GTMS. We have evidence, showing copies of bills, bank statements, and other relevant supporting records, regularly filed for review by NPA.”
Furthermore, the CSNL investigation reveals that the NPA management has operationalize a functioning Monitoring, Evaluation, and Compliance Committee that periodically monitor, evaluate and ensure compliance on the CTN operations consistent with the terms and conditions of the contract.
The CSNL wants to make it unequivocally clear that the findings contained in the GAC audit on GTMS contract with the “NPA on the CTN Program is full of omissions of important documents, including investment expenditure incurred, payments of throughput fees by GTMS to NPA management, and other deliverables of the company in the country.”
“How could GTMS commence operations without the US$3 million initial investment? How has GMTS been allowed to operate if the company has not been remitting throughput fees? Why are the issues of initial investment and throughput fees being raised after six years of GTMS operations in the country?”
The CSNL sees sinister motive behind the nature of the GAC audit findings, given the stiff competition that exist between the operations of GTMS and MEDTECH in the country. The priority being placed on the GAC audit report on GTMS, and not MEDTECH shows how GTMS has been targeted by some top government officials, including legislators for their ‘selfish interest.’
“It is ridiculous for the senate to disregard the illegal and dubious operations of MEDTECH, and open investigation on GTMS operations when the government just renegotiated the contracts with the company. The government represented by the ministries of Justice, Finance, NPA and other relevant authorities recently renegotiated the contract with GTMS, because the company has been in full compliance with the terms and conditions of the contract.”
The CSNL recognizes the laudable deliverables of GTMS in creating an effective and efficient cargo tracking system, restoring the country’s maritime image. Due to the effective cargo security measures instituted by GTMS, the US Coast Guard removed the country from the list of countries affected with the US Port Security Advisory, which required vessels arriving in the US after visiting ports in the country. The Tracking System has greatly minimized the issue of missing containers and improved shipping delivery, facilitating trade in both sea and land freight cargo by providing one-stop global logistics management hub, vessel routing, value and duty assessment and port terminal handling advisers. GTMS has truly revolutionized maritime and ports security, through the services of real time tracking, high security standards for cargoes and fast and efficient delivery of shipping services.
The CSNL, meanwhile, urges all stakeholders to allow GTMS to operate, because the company’s continuous operations in the country is cardinal to maintaining the country’s increased revenue base, economic growth, safe shipping in the country.
“We, therefore, call on the public not to lend credence to the GAC’s audit findings that there is no evidence that GTMS pay the initial investment fees and remitted throughput fees in the last six years. Such findings are unfounded and lack merit.”
As President Boakai fights to meet his ARREST Agenda, GTMS serves as a major contributor to raising domestic resources for implementation of the agenda.
Hence, we commend the government led by President Joseph Boakai, for extending the GTMS Contract with the government through the NPA.