Bong County – 30 local leaders including districts commissioners and local chiefs in Bong County, benefitted from a one capacity building training workshop on August 27, at the Bong County Women Center, Gbarnga City, Bong County. The overall goal of the training was to increase the leadership skills and deepen the understanding of local leaders to ensure participatory planning and sustainable development in Bong County.
Participants deepen their understanding about leadership, characteristic of a good leader, and teambuilding. Participants learn about the county service center and services that are been provided by the government and how they as local leaders can promote the usage of the service center at the district levels. Participants learned how to use the Community Radio Stations to promote grassroots development and share development information in their respective communities.
Facilitators at the training included, Mr. Anthony Sheriff, Assistant Superintendent for Development, Mr. Jefferson Gbaryan, Coordinator, Bong County Service Center and Mr. Clarence P. Jackson Sr, Regional Coordinator, Press Union of Liberia.
The head of the Bong County Service Center, Jefferson Gbaryan’s presentation covered the fees and processes of services being rendered by the center.
Gbaryan reported that the service center collected seven hundred seventy-one thousand, eight hundred thirty-three (771,833.00) Liberian Dollars (eight thousand, two hundred ten (8,210.00 United States Dollars) from the different services for the first operating period since the opening of the center (May-July, 2016).
Bong County Development Superintendent, Anthony Sheriff, lectured the local leaders about the past and present financial transactions of the county with specific focus on allocations to various districts, the implementation of projects, among several other issues.
Participants after the training promised to share the message about the county service center through community radio stations, town criers and town hall meetings. Mr. Jackson also from Radio Gbarnga, promised to provide airtime where District Commissioners will on a regular call and provide information about activities in the districts and participants promised to use the skills gained for the development of the county.
At the end of the program, Eddie Jarwolo, Naymote Executive Director, told participants that leadership is about power and the ability to know when and how to use it to influence and inspire the people around you to contribute.
He said the training would continue; because capacity building is key in realizing the vision of the decentralization and local government process and he call on local leaders in Bong County to promote the issue of the county service center, make themselves accessible, accountable and responsive to the people to serve.
This is the second in the series of training for local leaders in Bong County, in 2013, NAYMOTE partnered with Cuttington University and trained 50 local leaders in understanding local governance in Liberia, participatory planning, budgeting, how to conduct needs assessment and leadership the program ran for 12 weeks.
Naymote Partners for Democratic Development is a good governance and research institution working to promote democracy, transparency, and participatory governance in Liberia since 2001.