Grand Bassa County, Liberia — August 9, 2026: Representative Alfred Flomo of Grand Bassa County Electoral District #4 is facing growing verbal criticisms from the people of Grand Bassa County, especially citizens of the district following his recent assessment many of them are not being awarded gainful employment due to their low educational credentials or lack of education.
By Emmanuel Weedee-Conway
Speaking during a recent appearance on OK FM, Rep. Flomo said while the district has the second largest rubber plantation that was established in 1959, the Liberia Agriculture Company (LAC), employment opportunities for local citizens in high-paying jobs are limited due to the lack of education and technical training.
According to the lawmaker, most of the better-paying employment opportunities have allegedly gone to people from other counties because local residents lack the educational qualifications needed to compete for such positions.
“Most of our citizens are not able to get that opportunity because they are not educated, especially young people,” Rep. Flomo indicated, linking the situation to what he described as the growing attraction of politics among young people in the district.
Constituents Vexed With Lawmaker
The statement has since angered some constituents, who argue that describing “most” residents as uneducated is insulting, dismissive and an unfair characterization of the people he represents.
In their different Facebook and other social media posts and interview with this paper, some prominent citizens of the Wee Statutory District noted that the lawmaker should have focused on the structural barriers facing young people, including limited access to quality education, vocational training and employment, rather than appearing to blame citizens for their lack of educational opportunities.
“Hon. Alfred Flomo , you have to retract this statement that’s demeaning to us from Wee District and Grand Bassa County!!! This is not the regular politicd!!!!” posted Ambassador Emmanuel Suprise Whea.
Like Whea and others, Philip Kangar, a diaspora citizen of the district based in the US, questioned Rep. Flomo’s logic to denigrate young people, who he maintains, have disciplined themselves to the classroom to earned degrees in various fields.
‘Statement Taken Out Of Context’
On the heel of the mixed views, the Office of the lawmaker soon issued a clarity, stating that the statement was taken out of context.
Instead, he clarified that his position was specific to the many technical, supervisory and specialized at LAC, which require advanced knowledge and trainings.
Rep. Flomo, however, said his leadership is attempting to change what he described as a culture of political dependency among young people.
He explained that many high school graduates have come to view politics as one of the few available avenues for survival because of the limited employment opportunities available to them.
“Everybody graduating from high school, they think that the way to survive is to engage in politics. Now we are changing the narrative,” he asserted.
The District #4 Representative disclosed that he is working with Grand Bassa University to establish an agricultural college extension in the district.
He added that the initiative is intended to provide young people with specialized training that could enable them to take advantage of employment and business opportunities created by the county’s agricultural and industrial sectors.
Lawmaker Urged To Apologize
Despite the clarification that follows the public backlash, Whea and many other think that is not sufficient enough and as such, the lawmaker must render an open apology to the people rather than “lazy defense.”
Whea, a former Bassa youth representative to the Mano River Union Youth Parliament ( MRUYP-LC), a former Grand Bassa County Coordinator of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and an Indiana University (IU) 2018 trained administrator, who currently serves as an instructor at the Grand Bassa University (GBU) and President of the Liberia Kickball Federation (LKF), opines that the constituents, particularly the youth of the district, were ignorantly insulted by their own Representative.
“Hon. Alfred Flomo, you need to do the honorable thing and stop the lazy defence!!!!!Apologize to our generation, the residents and citizens of wee district or else!” Whea maintained.
