A major financial controversy has emerged here involving the National Road Fund (NRF) and three key government institutions: the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), and the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC).
The NRF has accused these bodies of failing to account for US$26 million out of the US$29 million in revenue reportedly collected for the Fiscal Year 2025, raising questions about transparency and accountability in the management of the country’s Road Fund.
Addressing the Liberian Senate Committee on Ways, Means, Finance, and Budget, Mrs. Joseta Neufville-Wento, CEO of the National Road Fund, described a stark discrepancy between the revenue data presented by the Ministry of Finance, the LRA, and the LPRC and the figures held by the NRF itself.
According to Mrs. Neufville-Wento, as of August 25, 2025, there is a US$26 million difference in the reported figures.
She noted that the NRF was not directly involved in revenue collection or in preparing the data submitted to the Senate, which she argued created a significant information gap and weakened the NRF’s ability to project and generate revenue for the national budget accurately.
Mrs. Neufville-Wento further explained that the NRF’s access to firsthand information from the LRA, the Ministry of Finance, and the LPRC has been limited, undermining its revenue projections.
She stated, “What we have in our possession runs contrary to what has been reported.” She also indicated that similar issues had occurred in the previous fiscal year, with discrepancies between importation data, sale data, and actual collections.
Responding to the NRF’s claims, Amos Tweh, Managing Director of LPRC, clarified that the LPRC does not collect Road Fund revenue. According to Tweh, the responsibility for collecting Road Fund money lies solely with the Liberia Revenue Authority.
The LPRC’s only involvement is to share importation data with relevant agencies, including the NRF and LRA, based on the outturn reports upon the arrival of petroleum vessels in port. Tweh emphasized that this data is made available to all stakeholders and that the LPRC has consistently shared this information as required.
Tweh also stated that, in 2024, the LPRC informed the NRF of its intention to provide importation data to allow for comparison with LRA’s figures, and that the LPRC had fulfilled this commitment. He suggested that any unresolved issues should have been raised directly with the LPRC for clarification.
The Director of Customs at the LRA, Saa Saamoi, attributed the revenue shortfall and the apparent data mismatch to the failure of Bea Mountain Mining Company to pay the required Road Fund fees of US$0.30 per unit. Saamoi explained that the national budget is based on projections that assume funds will be collected from Bea Mountain, a company responsible for 40-50% of the country’s fuel consumption.
However, due to repeated obstacles, the LRA was unable to collect the anticipated revenue from Bea Mountain, leading to a gap between projections and actual collections.
Saamoi further clarified that the Ministry of Finance had convened a conference to address the issue and introduced new procedures in response. As of October 2025, the LRA reported having collected only US$29 million, which reflects the shortfall attributed to Bea Mountain’s non-compliance.
The dispute over the unaccounted US$26 million in Liberia’s Road Fund highlights ongoing challenges of inter-agency communication, data transparency, and accountability in public financial management. -Edited by Othello B. Garblah.
