By George Cooper
Liberia has announced a record US$31m in revenue generated by its National Road Fund (NRF) as the country opened the 22nd General Assembly of the African Road Maintenance Funds Association (ARMFA) in Monrovia.
Speaking at the event, Liberia National Road Fund Manager Joseta Neufville Wento said the milestone marked the highest annual revenue in the fund’s history and underscored Liberia’s renewed focus on road development and transparency.
Addressing African and international delegates, Ms Wento said Liberia was honoured to host the continental gathering, focused this year on innovative financing and the sustainability of road infrastructure amid climate and mobility challenges. She described roads as the “engine of development, unity and African resilience,” adding that Monrovia symbolised African “fraternity, reconstruction and solidarity” as the city continues efforts to expand connectivity across the country.
Ms Wento praised President Joseph Boakai for what she called a strategic national development vision built on unity, infrastructure and inclusive growth. Under the current administration, she said, Liberia has launched a programme to rehabilitate more than 1,000 kilometres of primary and secondary roads while pursuing regional links to Freetown, Abidjan and Conakry to boost trade and economic integration. She noted that in 2023 the NRF generated US$14m in just six months, before reaching the unprecedented US$31m under a reformed governance structure in 2024.
Delegates were also presented with the NRF’s new public dashboard, designed to display real-time data on road projects, costs and locations. Ms Wento said the system would improve transparency and guide decision-making as the fund expands its financing sources. She highlighted two new mechanisms developed with the Ministry of Transport, including an axle-load control pilot that raised US$70,000 in four months from vehicle weighing services. The fund, she added, now receives all revenue directly into an escrow account following recent cabinet resolutions.
The assembly also received a continental reference study on African road funds, carried out by ARMFA in partnership with SSATP and supported by the European Union. Covering 15 African countries as well as Morocco and Tunisia, the assessment aims to shape the next generation of road maintenance funding models across the continent. Delegates from Mali, Guinea, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of Congo joined ARMFA President Essaie Moussa Aubin at the event, which Ms Wento closed by emphasising that roads remain “lifelines of exchange and connection” for Africa’s economies and people.
