Ganta, Nimba County – Residents of Nimba County are voicing outrage and demanding transparency from the County Superintendent Kou Meapea Gono’s Administration over the allocation of more than US$1Million One Hundred -Seventy Thousand Dollars for 39 development projects scattered across the county’s nine districts.
By D. Franklin Doloquee
The projects, which include commissioner compounds, hand pumps, school annexes with science labs and classroom blocks, were publicly announced by the County administration earlier this year.
Officials revealed that each initiative is budgeted at a flat rates of US$30,000, a figure that has ignited widespread skepticisms.
Multiplying out, the total comes to US$1,170,000, fueling accusations of mismanagement and inflated costs in a county where poverty persists despite vast iron ore deposits fueling national exports.
Led by activists Erickson Myres and Obediah Dahn, aggrieved citizens argue that such pricing defies common sense.
“No hand pump, a simple borehole with a manual pump should cost US$30,000 in Nimba’s rural districts,” Myres told FrontPage Africa during a tense community gathering in Ganta, the county’s bustling commercial hub.
“And three classroom annexes we’ve seen similar built elsewhere for a fraction of that. We welcome development, but not at prices that smell of corruption.” Dahn echoed the sentiment, pointing to past county projects where hand pumps were installed for under US$5,000 through international NGOs like WaterAid and living water international.
Nimba’s rugged terrain and scattered villages make infrastructure vital, yet locals describe a landscape of unfinished roads, dilapidated schools and unreliable water sources.
Photos circulating on social media show earthmovers idling at project sites, with critics questioning if the funds have even been disbursed effectively.
Multiple sources within the county administration whisper that Supt. Gono, affectionately dubbed “Mother Nimba” by some supporters, is reportedly channeling these funds to bolster her political profile ahead of the 2029 Elections.
Reportedly eyeing a Senate run against her own Unity Party colleague, Senator Nya Twayen Jr. as the next Senator come 2029 but Supt. Gono was reportedly dissuaded by party insiders. Now, insiders say, she’s pivoting to represent District 2 in the House, using high-profile project launches as campaign fodder.
The timing rankles voters who backed President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and Vice President Jeremiah Koung’s Unity Party(UP) in 2023.
“Three years in, and Nimba sees no real dividends, no new hospitals, no paved roads from Saclepea to Yekepa, no youth jobs from the mines,” lamented Melvin Gordon, a local trader.
“Instead, county social development funds praise the party not the people who voted them in. It’s betrayal.,’’ Gordon asserted.
Meanwhile, Supt. Gono’s office is yet to respond to requests for comment.
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