Ngafuan Hails MOL Work Permit Fee Hike -Calls for Consolidated Plan to Create More Liberian Jobs

MONROVIA – The recent administrative decision by the Labour Ministry to increase the fee for ordinary Liberian Work Permit from US1,000.000 to US3,000.00 has been welcomed by Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan.

Early this month, Labour Minister Cllr. Cooper W. Kruah, Sr., addressing the regular weekly MICAT Press briefing, announced the Government’s decision to triple the fee for an ordinary Liberian Work Permit, outlining its positive impact on the industrial sector by disabling the influx of migrant workers and replacing them with local Liberian workforce.

A Labour Ministry press release issued Monday, September 22, 2025, quotes Minister Ngafuan’s letter, dated September 18, 2025 as indicating: “the increment is a direct result of government policy rather than contractor performance, the associated revenue should be retained in full by the Government of Liberia”.

The release further quotes Minister Ngafuan’s communication as clarifying that the rationale for this distinction is that this specific fee increase was not instituted to enhance contractor services but was instead developed and implemented through the Inter-agency policy efforts of the Government of Liberia. Its primary objective is to incentivize concessionaires and other companies operating within Liberia to prioritize the employment and training of Liberian citizens, Minister Ngafuan noted.

Minister Ngafuan then clarified that the incremental fee of US2,000 for regular Work Permit falls outside the scope of the existing revenue-sharing agreement (60%/40%) with Cetis Graphic and Documentary Services.

Minister Ngafuan concluded his letter to Labour Minister Kruah by urging that ‘this  approach is crucial to our shared commitment to fiscal prudence and the maximization of domestic resources for the benefit of the Liberian people’.

 Meanwhile, Labour Minister Kruah has assured Finance Minister Ngafuan that every content of the communication will be considered in the ongoing Labour Transformation Program targeting the creation of more employment opportunities for Liberians in fufulment of Government AAID Agenda.