Paynesville – Residents of Montserrado County District Three have given a two-week ultimatum to the government to begin construction work on the Pipeline Road in Paynesville City, or they will set roadblocks.
Report by Willie N. Tokpah, [email protected]
The road has been lying in deplorable state for several years, forcing residents to recently begin a self-help rehabilitation work on it.
The residents, through the Youth Chair of Montserrado County District #3 Napoleon Kolleh, threatened to stage a major protest if the government pays deaf ears to their plight.
According to Kolleh, the rehabilitation work has lasted for two weeks on the road but the impact cannot be considered durable for vehicles to ply.
Speaking with FrontPage Africa Wednesday, Kolleh noted that the residents cannot be kept in suspense by the Ministry of Public Works about the appropriate date the construction work will begin.
“We were told that this road project was to start since 2016 but we did not see anything of such happening. It is unfortunate that the Ministry of Public Works will keep residents of Pipeline Community in suspense,” he said.
“This time around, we will not anyone, not even the Minister of Public Works to fool us. This road condition is impeding our activities here. People who have vehicles can attest, it cannot spend a long time with them due to this bad road.”
Kolleh said potholes are all on major parts of the road and is creating difficulties for commuters and vehicles.
Recently, the Ministry of Public Works couple of months ago announced the commencement of construction work on several roads within Montserrado, including the Pipeline road.
Kolleh r the current administration that similar pronouncement was made during the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf leadership after several pleas to have the road constructed, but their plight was ignored.
He fears that the road may continue to depreciate if the government does not act swiftly, expressing fear that it might get worse during the rainy season.
“I am afraid that when the rain gets serious, the road may be inaccessible to commuters and vehicles because mud will over it. Even during the dry season, we will face a serious problem with the dust,” Kolleh maintained.
When contacted, a staff in the communication office at the Ministry of Public Works Princess Mulbah said her boss (the Minister) has not mandated her to speak on the matter.
“I have not been given the go-ahead by my boss to speak on this and I cannot tell you anything until I get information from my boss,” she said.
“This is my first time hearing about this and I am just hearing this from you.
I don’t even know the area you are talking about.”