Table of Contents
A controversial $420 million infrastructure contract between the Liberian government and EBOMAF SA, controlled by Burkinabé tycoon Mahamadou Bonkoungou, is back on the agenda after years of dormancy, drawing renewed scrutiny from lawmakers and civil society.
Senator Albert Tugbe Chie, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Works and Rural Development, told lawmakers on October 16 that the Boakai administration had been contacted about reopening negotiations around what’s commonly known as the Elton–EBOMAF deal. It’s the first public indication that the government may be weighing whether to revive an agreement that once dominated public debate over transparency and political influence.
The EBOMAF arrangement dates to 2018, when the Weah administration signed off on a $420.81 million agreement with Bonkoungou’s company to construct and upgrade critical road networks in Monrovia and northeastern Liberia. That deal ran alongside a separate $536 million financing arrangement with Eton Finance PTE Ltd, a Singapore-registered entity whose own credibility was questioned at the time after it was reportedly struck off Singapore’s company registry before ratification.
Both contracts were ratified by Liberia’s legislature and signed into law, but they stalled almost immediately. A clause requiring disbursement of funds within 50 banking days was never met, and by 2020, the Ministry of Finance quietly invoked a default clause and shelved both agreements.
The initial EBOMAF contract was dogged by controversy from the outset. Bonkoungou was linked publicly to then-president George Weah amid reports that EBOMAF had made a private jet available to him, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Civil society groups pressed for full disclosure of feasibility studies and financing structures, but little was ever published.
Renewed discussions under President Joseph Boakai are likely to come under sharp scrutiny, especially on questions of oversight and financial risk. Liberia’s infrastructure deals have long been shadowed by secrecy and lopsided terms, often leaving the state burdened with commitments it can barely sustain.
Analysts say the re-emergence of the EBOMAF deal reflects both the government’s infrastructure ambitions and the ongoing tension between fast-tracked development plans and demands for transparency. “This is a politically sensitive file,” one legal expert familiar with the deal said privately. “If they reopen it, they’ll need to do so under very different conditions than before.”
For Bonkoungou, the founder of EBOMAF and one of West Africa’s better-known construction magnates, the deal’s return to the table marks a chance to re-establish a foothold in Liberia after years of inactivity. For the Boakai government, it represents both an opportunity to accelerate road building and a risk of reigniting old debates over governance, accountability and political patronage.
The administration has not yet issued formal details on whether negotiations have begun. But the deal’s reappearance is enough to reignite questions that were never fully resolved.
