The proposed concession of Liberia’s national identification system raises questions far beyond the production of ID cards.
It concerns law, Liberian employment, public revenue, national security, sovereign data, and whether statutory government functions should be placed under long-term foreign concession arrangements.
Liberia needs foreign investment, but the investment we need should create jobs for Liberians, build national capacity, transfer technology, and add to government revenue–not unnecessarily displace Liberian workers while foreign companies take a percentage of revenue generated from statutory public services.
The first issue is legality. The National Identification Registry (NIR) was created by statute and assigned responsibility to establish, maintain, and administer Liberia’s biometric identification system, collect and secure biometric data, and produce national identification cards. Government may purchase technology and equipment and hire foreign experts to install systems and train Liberians. But technical assistance is fundamentally different from transferring statutory functions assigned by law to a public institution.
A contract should not indirectly rewrite an Act of the Legislature. In Liberia Agriculture Corporation v. Liberia Revenue Authority, decided February 12, 2026, the Supreme Court emphasized that concession agreements must conform to statutory provisions. The Legislature should therefore determine whether the proposed agreement with Austrian company OeSD merely provides technology and expertise or substantially transfers functions that the NIR Act assigns to NIR.
Liberia already has a better model in the Liberia Business Registry. Foreign technical assistance has helped modernize the Registry, but Liberians operate the statutory service. That should be the objective: obtain the technology, train Liberians, transfer the knowledge, and leave the governmental function with the Liberian institution.
Our experience with other statutory services gives reason for caution. The work-permit system is operated with Slovenian company CETIS under a publicly reported 60/40 revenue-sharing arrangement. For resident permits, the publicly reported arrangement is 60 percent to the Government of Liberia and 40 percent to Contec Global. For vehicle registration and driver’s licensing, public reporting states that 70 percent goes to LTMI and 30 percent to the Government of Liberia.
For the proposed National ID concession, however, the exact revenue-sharing or cost-recovery formula has not been publicly established. That information should be disclosed before ratification.These arrangements raise a fundamental question: Why should Liberia surrender substantial portions of revenue from statutory public services instead of purchasing the necessary technology and training Liberians to operate those services?
There is an additional concern when a private concessionaire’s income is tied to the number of permits, licenses, registrations, or identification documents processed or issued. A regulatory system exists to enforce statutory standards–not to maximize transactions. Sometimes the law requires Government to say no.
For work permits, the Decent Work Act requires the Ministry of Labor to be satisfied that no suitably qualified Liberian is available before a foreign worker receives permission to work. If more work permits mean more income for a concessionaire, the commercial incentive favors greater volume, while the statutory purpose requires careful scrutiny and protection of Liberian employment.
The same concern applies to resident permits. Immigration authorities must determine whether an applicant lawfully qualifies to enter or remain in Liberia. Proper screening may disclose criminal history or other circumstances that make an applicant inadmissible, deportable, or otherwise ineligible under Liberian law. A revenue system should never create an incentive to weaken that screening simply because issuing another permit generates additional income.
Vehicle registration and driver’s licensing raise the same structural concern. These services exist not merely to collect fees but to ensure that vehicles and drivers satisfy legal and safety requirements. Revenue should never become more important than statutory standards.
This does not mean concessionaires are presently causing unlawful permits or licenses to be issued. The concern is with the structure of the incentive itself. When a private operator earns more money as more approvals are issued, commercial incentives can potentially conflict with regulatory responsibility. That is not in Liberia’s national interest.
There is also the question of Liberian employment. Foreign investment should increase Liberian employment, not reduce it. Where foreign specialists are genuinely needed, their responsibility should include training Liberians within a defined period. Government should know how many Liberian jobs a concession creates, how many it displaces, how many expatriates it employs, and when Liberians will assume those technical positions.
The Decent Work Act also permits consideration of reciprocity in foreign employment. Liberia can therefore reasonably ask whether Liberians enjoy comparable opportunities to work in Slovenia, Austria, India, and other countries from which companies come to Liberia to perform our statutory public services. Where foreign personnel are brought into Liberia, the Government should also establish whether suitably qualified Liberians are genuinely unavailable and what specific plan exists to transfer those skills to Liberians.
Then there is national security and data sovereignty. Work-permit records identify foreigners working in Liberia. Resident-permit databases identify foreigners residing here. Vehicle and driver records contain information about vehicles, owners, and addresses. Most importantly, the national identification system contains the biometric identities of citizens and legal residents. These are not ordinary commercial databases. They are sovereign information of the Republic of Liberia.
Such data should not be controlled or principally stored in foreign capitals or jurisdictions where concessionaires–or potentially their governments under foreign law–may obtain access. Liberia must know where every primary and backup database is located, who can access it, who possesses the encryption keys and administrator credentials, and whether the Liberian Government can independently operate, recover, and secure the system at all times. National security should never depend permanently upon a private foreign contractor.
There is also the larger revenue question. Government may argue that private technology increases total collections and that revenue sharing is therefore justified. That may be true, but the figures should be made public.
Liberians deserve to know what Government collected before each concession, what it collects now, how much the concessionaire receives, what the actual technology costs, what it would cost Liberia to purchase and operate the system directly, how many Liberians could be trained with the revenue presently shared with foreign operators, and what assets, software, and technical knowledge Liberia owns when each concession ends.
Foreign investment should add to Liberia’s revenue, not merely take a percentage of revenue Government already has statutory authority to collect. Liberia should welcome investment that builds factories, introduces technology, creates Liberian jobs, develops skills, and expands public revenue. We should be far more cautious about arrangements that displace Liberian employment and require the Republic to permanently share revenue from services Government is already legally mandated to provide.
Before ratifying the National ID concession, the Legislature should therefore determine whether the agreement is consistent with the NIR Act; what OeSD’s exact revenue or cost-recovery formula is; where Liberia’s biometric data will be stored; who will control the servers, encryption keys, and administrator credentials; how many Liberian jobs will be created or displaced; what technology and skills will be transferred; what Liberia will own when the agreement ends; and when Liberians will be capable of operating the entire system independently. These are not anti-investment questions. They are questions of law, employment, public revenue, sovereignty, national security, and good governance.
Liberia should welcome foreign investment that creates employment and increases Liberia’s revenue, not arrangements that unnecessarily displace Liberian workers, divide statutory revenues with foreign concessionaires, and create financial incentives that may conflict with the very laws those services are supposed to enforce.
The better model is simple: bring the technology, train Liberians, transfer the skills, protect our revenue and sovereign data, and keep sovereign governmental functions under Liberian control.
A better Liberia is possible if the Government puts the Liberian people first at all times.
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