Liberia, May 15 -- PRESIDENT JOSEPH NYUMA Boakai's decision to suspend the controversial Traffic Monitoring and Revenue Assurance Contract between the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) and Telecom International Alliance (TIA) may have been politically popular given his administration's pledge to fight graft.

HOWEVER, AT THE HEART of this controversy lies a troubling contradiction: the Executive Mansion insists the contract was tainted by fraud, procurement violations, and irregular amendments, while the Ministry of Justice - the government's chief legal advisor - had already issued a formal opinion affirming that the agreement was legal, valid, and enforceable.

THAT CONTRADICTION CANNOT simply be brushed aside. If the Boakai ad...