BENTOL, Montserrado County – Montserrado County newly inducted Superintendent Whroway Bryant has vowed to ensure the Boakai-Koung administration’s ARREST Agenda is successfully implemented in Montserrado under his watch as Superintendent.
ARREST is an acronym for Agriculture, Road, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation and Tourism.
Mr. Bryant, in his induction ceremony thanked President Joseph Boakai for his appointment and pledged to lead his team in promoting the administration’s agenda.
He replaced former Superintendent Florence Brandy who served for 11 years under the administration of former Presidents George Weah and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
He acknowledged that the salary of local officials was not encouraging, as some make as low as US$100. He stressed that one of his priorities is to lobby for an increment of local government officials’ salary. He said it was prudent to restore the dignity of the local officials, adding that a large number of the local chiefs are not on payroll, and even those that are on payroll are not making a living wage. He thanked his predecessor Florence Brandy for the smooth transition.
Madam Ellen Pratt, Deputy Minister of Urban Affairs at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, serving as the installing officer, called on the local chiefs and municipal government officials to support and work in harmony with the new Superintendent. Madam Pratt said the political season was now over, and it was time to put political differences aside and work together for the betterment of Montserrado and Liberia at large.
“I urge you to respect the rule of law and promote peace and harmony. No county can develop if the people are divided among themselves,” she said. “Politic has come and gone, we are now one government and let’s work together to heal the wounds and hurts caused by the elections.”
Speaking further, she said, “We, as Liberians must take charge in building our country. We have all the resources we need. They can only work for us if we manage them. We call on the youth to be the champions of positive change. We call on our traditional leaders and elders to work together for the peace and development of Liberia.”
For her part, former Montserrado County Superintendent, Florence Brandy called on the Bryant leadership to address the issue of salaries for local Government authorities.
Madam Brandy said low salaries for local government officials has been one of the major challenges during her years as superintendent of Montserrado County.
“After serving for 11 years, my greatest challenge is that our local government officials are underpaid. Commissioners are paid just US$100. This is a challenge not only experienced by the George Weah administration, but the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration.
Speaking further, she urged her successor to create good rapport with his staff in order to be successful. She expressed hope that the current team at the Ministry of Internal Affairs will dedicate their time to support local government as many of them served as Superintendents before.
Meanwhile, Madam Lucia K. Tarpeh was also inducted as Development officer of Montserrado County. The colorful event, held at the Bentol City Administration Building was attended by government officials including lawmakers, development partners, chiefs and elders and a cross session of residents of Montserrado County.