MONROVIA – Low-level staff and visitors at the House of Representatives are being compelled to pay a fee of LD$50 before having access to the rest rooms in the building.
According to some maintenance staff who asked for anonymity, they are charging the fee because of constraints they face to get water to the building. According to them, they travel far distances to get water for the restroom since there is no running water at the Capitol.
“We have to travel to Buzzy Quarter to get water. We even have to buy our own bathroom detergents including air freshener and soap even tissue so we are forced to charge the people to get the money back.”
When contacted, Representative Marvin Cole of Bong County who co-chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Rules, Order and Administration claimed to have no knowledge about such practice but failed to respond to question about the consistent lack of pipe-borne water at the Capitol.
Over the years, the legislature specifically the House of Representatives, has always had the challenge of providing pipe-borne water in the building. Under the administration of Speaker Alex Tyler as Speaker, the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation threatened to cut off water supply due to huge arrears owed by the Legislature.
Currently, on a daily basis staff are seen carrying water containers on their heads to fetch water for the restrooms. Some staff told FrontPageAfrica that personal staff of lawmakers are making the sacrifice to get water into bathrooms of their bosses, especially those with self-contain bathrooms.