By: Trokon Wrepue – trokon1992seokin@gmsil.com
MONROVIA – The Liberian Senate’s Committee on Defense, Security, Intelligence, and Veteran Affairs is seeking a significant budget increase for the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) in the 2026 fiscal year to strengthen the agency’s fight against illicit drugs.
Speaking to reporters at the Capitol Building on Wednesday, Committee Chairman Senator Momo T. Cyrus said the move follows an extensive engagement with the LDEA’s Officer-in-Charge, DCP Fitzgerald Biago, during which the Committee assessed the agency’s operations, challenges, and reform plans.
According to Senator Cyrus, the discussions revealed that the LDEA is operating under extremely difficult conditions.
Hundreds of its action agents have been working for over a decade without being placed on the agency’s payroll, while logistical support remains severely inadequate.
The agency also continues to function from a rundown headquarters, a situation the Senator described as undermining to Liberia’s anti-drug efforts.
Senator Cyrus emphasized that increasing the LDEA’s budget is critical to ensuring its effectiveness.
He disclosed that the Committee has asked the agency to present a detailed list of its workforce, covering qualifications and salaries, to provide a clear picture of its staffing needs.
He further revealed that talks with the Ministry of Finance have already yielded some positive commitments, including the provision of vehicles to strengthen field operations and the relocation of the agency from its current dilapidated office to a more suitable facility.
The Senate Committee vowed to continue pushing for more financial and logistical support to ensure the LDEA has the resources it needs to deliver on its mandate.
