By Pewu Y. Sumo
MONROVIA – The Deputy Director General for Operations at the General Services Agency (GSA), Mr. Robert Wilson, has issued a final call to individuals and government officials to immediately return all decommissioned license plates currently in their possession.
Speaking during the Ministry of Information (MOI) regular press briefing on Thursday, May 7, Mr. Wilson emphasized that these plates were assigned strictly for temporary use. He noted that their continued unauthorized possession undermines the government’s efforts to modernize fleet management and ensure institutional accountability.
According to the GSA Operations chief, several appointed officials were granted temporary “Guest” plates for use on their private vehicles. This measure was implemented due to the government’s temporary inability to provide official state vehicles to all appointees at the time.
“Those who were using their private vehicles to undertake government operations were afforded the opportunity to use decommissioned plates, but with the caveat that stickers would be used to identify authorized temporary users,” Hon. Wilson stated.
The Deputy Director General explained that the stickers were intended to distinguish legal temporary users from those using decommissioned plates illegally—a practice he said is currently depriving the government of lawful revenue.
Mr. Wilson warned that the GSA, in collaboration with the Liberia National Police (LNP) and the Ministry of Transport, will soon launch a robust enforcement exercise. He cautioned that any vehicle found plying the streets with unauthorized or expired government plates will be impounded.
He further alleged that some individuals are splitting pairs of plates, using one on a primary vehicle and placing the other on a different vehicle. Mr. Wilson clarified that his team will impound any vehicle involved in this practice, and violators will be required to pay towing and storage fees before the vehicles are released.
This crackdown is part of a broader strategy by the GSA leadership, headed by Director General Galakpah Kortima, to account for all state-owned assets and streamline the national fleet.
The GSA is urging all officials to comply immediately to avoid public embarrassment as the sweeping enforcement exercise gets underway.
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