Roland Lafayette Giddings (also rendered Roland Layfette Giddings) is a Liberian government official who has served as Minister of Public Works of Liberia since 2024. His tenure has centered on road infrastructure development, enforcement of urban zoning regulations, and Liberia's engagement with regional and international transportation and water sanitation bodies.
Early career Giddings served as Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of Public Works and Rural Development in 2014. He later worked as a Program Specialist at the Economic Management Team Secretariat within the Office of the President at the Executive Mansion, where he contributed to the development of an Aid Management Platform and a National Aid Strategy and Policy to coordinate donor assistance to Liberia. As of October 2024, Giddings was reported to be pursuing a bachelor's degree in public administration and management at the University of Liberia.
Minister of Public Works Giddings was appointed by President Joseph Boakai as Minister of Public Works in 2024. Following his designation, FrontPageAfrica reported that his appointment did not comply with Liberia's Executive Law, which specifies that the position be held by a qualified engineer.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Commission In March 2024, Giddings was appointed chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Liberia National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Commission, a body established in 2018 to oversee the country's water, sanitation, and hygiene sector.
Road infrastructure policy Giddings has outlined a road sector reform strategy identifying road and energy infrastructure as the primary constraints on Liberia's economic growth. The strategy includes plans to activate additional revenue channels for road maintenance, develop toll systems to help fund road expansion, and reform construction permitting and building codes. In October 2024, he announced dry-season road works on several corridors, including the Tappita–Toe Town and Toe Town–Zwedru routes, alongside compensation arrangements for property owners affected by construction. As part of an internal administrative reform, Giddings' ministry has also restructured the leadership of Resident Engineers, the ministry's senior county-level officers, across Liberia's fifteen counties.
Zoning enforcement In January 2025, Giddings announced a stricter enforcement of Liberia's zoning laws, stating that unauthorized construction, particularly in alleys and roadside reserves, would be investigated and demolished if not brought into compliance. He said the ministry's legal department would review property deeds to determine whether structures encroached on public rights of way, and stated that no individual, regardless of status, would be exempt from enforcement.
International engagement In July 2025, Giddings presided over the opening of the 10th International Conference on Sustainable Transportation in Africa (ICTA 2025), hosted in Monrovia in partnership with the Global Transportation Professional Network Group, Liberia's Ministry of Transport, and the International Road Federation. He said Liberia's hosting of the conference, after having participated in the prior year's edition in Tanzania, reflected the country's growing role in continental transportation policy. In September 2025, Giddings was invited to participate in the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program, a governance-focused forum for government leaders held at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 14 to 17 September 2025.
Road maintenance spending dispute On 29 October 2024, Giddings appeared before the Liberian Senate's Committee on Public Works to respond to reports that his ministry had spent US$22 million on road maintenance across the country. Giddings denied the allegation, stating that the ministry had never been allocated such funds and that any related financial process had been handled jointly with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. He challenged those making the allegations to provide supporting evidence. At the same hearing, Giddings addressed a separate controversy involving 285 pieces of heavy equipment imported into Liberia under the previous government, stating that the matter had been referred to the Ministry of Justice for legal review.
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