By Precious D Freeman
The House of Representatives is reviewing a bill seeking to establish a ferry transport service to be operated by the National Transit Authority (NTA) across the country.
The Ferry Bill was approved by the Liberian Senate on March 7, 2023 and forwarded to the House of Representatives for concurrence.
On Thursday, March 16, 2023, following the reading of the Senate’s engross bill, a motion was proffered by Rep. Ivar Jones, and through a unanimous vote, House’s Plenary mandated the Joint Committees on Transport, Judiciary, Ways, Means and Finance to review and report to plenary one week after its resumption from break.
Meanwhile, the bill, when enacted into law by the Legislature, will expand the latitude of operation of the NTA to provide marine or waterway transportation using ferry boats as an alternative to buses, which cannot reach many parts of the country.
According to the bill, when also approved into law by the Legislature, the NTA shall not only acquire, equip, or manage the Ferry or Ferries, but also build passenger or Cargo Terminals in each county, as well as maintenance facilities.
