Gbarnga, Bong County – The head of the Project Management Committee of Bong County, Steve Mulbah, says the selection of contractors for the implementation of new projects will commence on December 15, 2019.
Mulbah spoke Wednesday in Botota, Kokoyah Statutory District on December 11 at the start of county-wide stakeholders’ engagements in Bong County organized by Naymote Partners for Democratic Development.
Supported by FORUM SYD, a politically and religiously unaffiliated Swedish development cooperation organization working in Liberia and many other countries in the world, the county-wide event is aimed at creating awareness on the usage and management of the County Social Development Funds.
The PMC chair informed the participants that the county had to settle her liabilities with contractors it owed for projects done in the past of US$740,400, while the county’s balance of US$271,000 will be used for new projects.
He said delegates who attended the county sitting last November apportioned US$2,297,759 but only received US$1.15 million, thereby posing difficulties to the leadership of the county to fully execute the resolution.
Mulbah presented to the participants the resolution from last year’s county sitting, the expenditure report, and plans for the implementation of projects agreed at the sitting.
“The government of Liberia gave Bong County US$100,000. We also received from the government of Liberia US$1 million; we were told this amount came from one of our partners-China Union”
Under Liberia’s Budget Law, the PMC serves as the technical arm of the County Council in identifying and costing of projects; it oversees and coordinates implementation of all approved development projects.
Mulbah said the county also received US$50,000 from Deco Incorporated, a Nigerian oil company, for oil exploration in the county’s third district.
One of such projects is the renovation of the superintendent residence in Gbarnga, according to Mulbah.
Being a county with several concession companies, Bong receives little over US$2 million annually in both social and county development funds.
As per the different mineral development agreements signed with the government of Liberia, China Union provides US$1.7 million to Bong for mining iron ore in Bong Mines; ArcelorMittal contributes US$500,000 annually, while national government remits US$200,000 as development fund to the county every year.
The management and usage of these funds have always been a source of controversy in the county. Most citizens complain of the lack of sufficient information on the management of the funds, while others complain of allege mismanagement of the funds.
Moses Bailey, Naymote’s regional coordinator in Bong, Lofa, and Nimba Counties, said the awareness campaign is meant to bring citizens in contact with the leadership of the Project Management Committee of Bong to dialogue on how development funds are being used in the county.
At the launch of the stakeholders’ engagements in Botota City, Kokoyah Statutory District on Wednesday, Bailey said the awareness is specifically focused on providing information to citizens on the usage of US$1.15 million development funds Bong received in fiscal year 2018/19.
“We are ensuring that the 2018/2019 county sitting resolution is provided for citizens and stakeholders to know and understand what was agreed upon; to provide update details on the expenditure of US$1.15 million dollars received by Bong County during the fiscal year 2018/2019 as County Social Development Funds, and as well inform the citizens of the implementation stages and processes of new projects to be implemented in 2019/2020,” Bailey said.
FORUM SYD’s Land Rights officer, Miatta Konah, who attended the engagement forum, called on citizens to always engage their leaders constructively on issues of governance.
“FORUM SYD wants you the community people to have power in decision-making,” Konah said.
One person who expressed her regret about the way projects are agreed during county sittings and sometimes never done in certain places in the county is the commissioner of Kokoyah district, Mary Kwenah.
Speaking in the Kpelleh language, Kwenah said: “Sometimes, we go at the county sitting and agreed that something will be done in our area, but we don’t see it. As we speak, we don’t have commissioner residence in our district, even though it was agreed that we will have one. We need it.”
The Botota engagement was attended by 43 persons from four districts. The participants included district commissioners, youth and women leaders, teachers, health workers, CBOs, among others.
Bailey said the stakeholders’ engagement will also be done in Salala and Gbarnga.
The superintendent of Kokoyah Statutory District, Conteh Yallah, thanked Naymote for inviting the PMC to provide information to them on how funds have been used in the county.
“These kinds of meetings are good because they help to educate us and clear our doubts on some of the accountability issues. Now our people understand how the money is being divided,” Yallah said.
The engagement continued on Friday in Salala District and will continue in Gbarnga, Saturday, December 14, 2019.