ANC Petitions LACC to Investigate Controversial MRU Center Project | News

The opposition Alternative National Congress (ANC) has formally requested a full-scale corruption investigation into the Mano River Union (MRU) Center for Regional Peace and Development project in Foya, Lofa County, alleging possible violations of Liberia’s public financial management, procurement, and constitutional accountability laws.  

In a formal communication dated May 25, 2026, and addressed to the Executive Chairperson of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), the ANC said recent public disclosures, government statements, and investigative media reports surrounding the project have raised “profound questions regarding the legality, transparency, accountability, and constitutional compliance” of the undertaking.  

The project has become the subject of growing public scrutiny in recent weeks following revelations that construction reportedly commenced around September 10, 2024, under what multiple sources described as a “National Secret” initiative. Subsequent clarifications by government officials acknowledged that the facility is fully owned by the Government of Liberia and financed primarily through contributions from State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), including the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), the National Port Authority (NPA), the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC), and the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC).  

The MRU Center project, located in Foya near Liberia’s borders with Sierra Leone and Guinea, has been publicly presented by government officials as a regional peace, security, and development initiative intended to strengthen cross-border cooperation within the Mano River Union basin. However, questions surrounding its financing structure, procurement process, and approval mechanisms have fueled political and public debate.

The ANC, headed politically by businessman Alexander B. Cummings, argued that the concerns go beyond ordinary partisan disagreement and strike “at the very heart of Liberia’s public financial management architecture, procurement integrity system, and democratic governance framework.”  

According to the ANC, significant public funds may have been committed and expended outside the approved national budgetary framework and without legislative appropriation, as required under Liberia’s Public Financial Management Act and Article 34 of the Constitution. The party also alleged that the project may have bypassed mandatory procurement and competitive bidding procedures established under the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC) Act.  

The ANC further claimed that public resources under the control of SOEs may have been redirected without transparent disclosure, legislative oversight, or independent auditing mechanisms, while contradictory public statements about the project’s ownership, purpose, funding sources, and total cost have heightened suspicions surrounding the initiative.  

“The reported secrecy surrounding the project’s execution may constitute deliberate circumvention of transparency and accountability safeguards established under Liberian law,” the ANC stated in the communication.  

The opposition party is now urging the LACC to immediately commence what it described as an “independent and comprehensive investigation” into the financing, procurement, contracting, authorization, and implementation of the project. Specifically, the ANC wants investigators to determine whether any provisions of the PFM Act, PPCC Act, Penal Law, anti-corruption statutes, or other applicable laws were violated.  

The party also called for the identification of all public officials, contractors, intermediaries, and institutions involved in approving and executing the project, as well as a full review of financial transfers, contracts, memoranda, procurement records, approvals, and SOE disbursement mechanisms associated with the initiative.  

In addition, the ANC requested that any findings of wrongdoing result in appropriate criminal, civil, administrative, or restitutionary actions, and urged the LACC to publicly release the results of any investigation “in the interest of transparency, public confidence, and democratic accountability.”  

Despite its criticism, the ANC emphasized that it is not opposed to legitimate national development or regional cooperation initiatives.

“Development must always proceed within the framework of constitutional governance, fiscal transparency, procurement integrity, and the rule of law,” the party stated, adding that “Liberia’s democratic future depends not merely upon what projects are undertaken, but how they are undertaken.”  

The communication was signed by ANC Secretary General Desmond U. Nimely and approved by the party’s Chairman, Cllr. Lafayette E. O. Gould. Copies were also sent to the President Pro Tempore of the Liberian Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the General Auditing Commission, the PPCC, the Ministry of Justice, members of the diplomatic community, civil society organizations, and media institutions.