Liberia’s national ID issuance grinds to halt over $1.7M debt to service provider

For many months now, national ID cards have not been issued in Liberia, and reports suggest one of the reasons is a debt of around $1.7 million owed to Techno Brain, the Kenya-headquartered company managing the country’s national identity infrastructure.

Initially, ID delivery was suspended in June 2025 with a pledge by the government to fix certain anomalies which were rocking the system, including technical issues, issuance delays, and other administrative irregularities. Liberians have also been complaining of high costs involved in obtaining a national ID card.

A steering committee was put in place in July by President Joseph Boakai to look into the problems and then suggest an overhaul, with the priority at the time being to speed up the selection process for a new ID card contractor.

While the multi-sectoral committee is still expected to submit its report by next month, information about unpaid debts to Techno Brain has been received with reprobation by Liberians.

Many citizens have been groaning in frustration as they say they are either unable to apply for ID cards afresh or renew those that have expired in their hands.

As Front Page Africa reports, full access to the biometric registration database has not been possible for many months now due to the $1.7 million debt. The outlet mentions that the Executive Director of the National Identification Registry (NIR), Andrew Peters, declined a request for comment.

The consequences of the halt, the outlet notes, have been far-reaching, as citizens have to sometimes use alternative identification documents such as passports and voter IDs to access important services.

In addition to the debt owed to Techno Brain, there have also been concerns about procurement irregularities involving a new ID card infrastructure with Austrian firm OSD International.

The consequences of these and many other problems are a complete shutdown of the national ID system, which continues to penalize citizens and slow down the country’s chances of meeting universal legal identity targets.

Liberia’s national ID program is a component of a World Bank-funded digital public infrastructure (DPI) initiative labeled “Governance Reform and Accountability Transformation Project.” The project aims to strengthen the country’s digital infrastructure in order to facilitate access to public services.

Despite efforts put in place for nearly 10 years now, Liberia’s national ID coverage stands at less than 15 percent for a country that is counting on its national ID as the foundation of its digital economy ambitions.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital ID infrastructure  |  Liberia  |  National Identification Registry (NIR)  |  procurement  |  Techno Brain