Buchanan – Liberians of the five electoral districts of Grand Bassa County have launched a group dubbed Citizens Movement to End Political Division in Bassa (CIMOEPDB), which objective is to promote reconciliatory messages in the county.
CIMOEPDB says it is a pro-democracy organization comprising of conscious-minded Grand Bassa residents with a mandate is to “liberate and rescue the Political future of Grand Bassa County from the continuous pattern of destructive and negative political division through reconciliatory awareness”.
Victor Flomo, the lead advocate of the group, told FrontPageAfrica that disunity has greatly undermined the development of the county and continues to create “untold suffering and unnecessary hardship” for the ordinary Citizens.
“For about two decades, the developmental progress of the county has continued to retrogress as its political future remained hijacked and stagnated in the hands of the major political combatants, continuously wrestling, in their quest to gain and maintain absolute political control of the county,” Flomo said.
“Despite the continuous calls for reconciliation and efforts by citizens of the County including pastors, church leaders, and Imams, the main political actors of the county have deliberately refused in all forms and manner to reconcile, thereby remaining very focus in their quest to promote and maintain the culture of disunity amongst the Bassa people through their deeds and actions.”
Flomo alleges that the county cannot properly account for over US$20 million it has received as county and social development funds for over a decade.
He said “failed, substandard and unfinished development projects and corruption remain the order of the day” in the administrative affairs of the county.
“The able body men and women of the Bassa workforce remain unemployed in high numbers as jobs intended for Bassa Citizens at various concessions including ArcelorMittalLiberia are being given away in huge numbers on a daily basis without advertisement in the county,” he alleges.
The lamented that the county`s development programs remain “stagnated and greatly undermined” as its people continue to suffer Bad Road network.
From the cities to the hinterlands, the lack of electricity, poor health care, and condition, slow infrastructure development, high rate of unemployment in the presence of companies’ operation amongst others due to disunity, he said.
“Considering the effect of this negative political disunity in the county, witnessing all the failed efforts to reconcile these Political Warriors and realizing the urgency for Bassa people to place Bassa interest above individual interest, one can clearly see that It`s no more about talking to persuade them to reconcile but acting to demand a unified Bassa for all.
“We have talk [about] reconciliation for decades but to no avail, so now is the time to act reconciliation. Therefore, we are pleased to formally announce the establishment of the Citizens Movement to End Political division in Bassa (CIMOEPDB), a vehicle to ensure a Reconciled Bassa beyond 2020,” Flomo said.
The assured that the “Movement shall remain very focus and committed to its objectives of creating massive awareness” across the county to ensure that the “political warring factions and their collaborators are denied any opportunity to divide us further”.
He also encouraged “well-meaning Bassa citizens” including, the Youths, Elders, Women, the Christian and Muslim communities to join the organization restores the “political dignity” of Grand Bassa County.