Buchanan, Grand Bassa County – Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor in collaboration with Buchanan district Representative Matthew Joe on November 10, 2018 broke ground for the immediate construction of the Fairground road.
Report By Elton W. Tiah, FPA Contributor
The pavement to the road leading to the Unification Pavilion on the Fairground will be first since the establishment of the city in1833.
The project is a joint initiative of President George Weah and Hon. Matthew Joe following campaign promises made during the 2017 Elections.
“If you elect me (Hon. Matthew Joe) as your representative, I will make sure the Fairground Road is paved,” said Joe during the 2017 campaign.
“I (President Weah) will support Matthew Joe fulfill his promise to you about the Fairground Road construction if I win and Matthew wins,” added Candidate Weah in 2017.
The road is part of the feeder roads project captured in the plan of the Ministry of Public Works as promised by the government.
At the groundbreaking event, VP Taylor stressed that the government remains committed to improving the lives of its citizens by building more roads.
“I want to assure the county leadership that I will always support President Weah’s dream in connecting the nation with god paved roads,” VP Taylor asserted.
She then provided 500 gallons of fuel for the county community college and for the pavement of Kilby Street, while calling on every member of the Bassa Legislative Caucus to follow her lead.
Mabotu Vlah Nyepan, Liberia’s Minister for Public Works, mentioned that the constant advocacy by Representative Joe was a clear manifestation that the leaders of Grand Bassa are ready for development.
“Grand Bassa Electoral District #3 Lawmaker, who chairs the committee on Public Works at the Lower House, Rep. Matthew Fairplay Joe consistently engaged us about this road and its importance, which prompted President Weah to decide that each county capital city gets a paved three Kilometer of road,” Min. Nyenpan said.
The Public works Minister added that the project is estimated to be done in eight months, but they will be happy if the construction company “Sidani Group Holding-Connecting Liberia” climaxes the work within six months with no delay.
The estimated cost of the road is placed at US$1.2 million, he said.
In remarks, Representative Joe mentioned that the ground breaking of the Fairgrounds Road is a dream come true for his leader.
“I am urging all citizens to take ownership of the project through a robust monitoring and avoid being anti to development. This road is for Bassa and not Matthew Joe,” he stressed.
Williams Whitfield, a citizen of Bassa thanked the Government of Liberia and representative Joe for their efforts to ensure that the Fairground road gets pave.
“I am begging the company that is doing this road to help our people with the contracts that will be given like flag boy, physical works and other works,” he said.
The groundbreaking ceremony brought together the officials of the county under one umbrella despite the current rift exist among them.
VP Taylor, House Bhofal Speaker Chambers, Dr. Lawrence Bropleh and the Traditional Grand Zoe Chief Edward Garmah used the opportunity to call on lawmakers of Grand Bassa County to reconcile their differences for the forward match of the county.