Monrovia – Scores of aggrieved members of the Political based group Economic Freedom Fighters of Liberia over the weekend stormed the office of District #4, Montserrado County Representative Rustonlyn Suacoco Dennis in demand of access to electricity.
The political office of Representative Dennis was surrounded under the command of Theodore T. U. Hodge. The EFF members are concerned about the delay in connecting residents of Soul Clinic Community to the Liberia Electricity Corporation’s power grid.
“It is unfair that we lack electricity in the Soul Clinic while adjacent communities have access to electricity,” Hodge said.
Later, the angry protesters presented a three-count petition to the lawmaker, giving the lawmaker an ultimatum to immediately resolve the electricity problem.
Count one of the petition called for the immediate setting up of a committee by Hon. Dennis to urgently probe the delay in the connection of residence of the Soul Clinic Community to the electricity power grid.
They alleged that Representative Dennis’ home, which is also in the Soul Clinic Community, is connected while other residences are not connected.
The petition also called for the immediate conduct of an election to ensure the community has a new breed of leaders that will justly advocate for residents’ wellbeing.
They also demanded the lawmaker to ensure that all major roads are rehabilitated before the end of the rainy season.
Hodge, in his statement to reporters, said they had gathered at the lawmaker’s office to remind her about her oversight responsibility, which includes ensuring the social and economic wellbeing of constituents.
“Representative Dennis has neglected to exercise her responsibility of showing interest in her people, but interested in herself,” he said.
“Out of the over 25 communities constituting District #4, residents of the Soul Clinic Community are yet to benefit from the lawmaker’s oversight duty at the 54th National Legislature and are in darkness.”
For her part, Hon. Dennis in receiving the petition expressed disappointment in the manner and form the aggrieved residents demonstrated.
Deplorable road condition is a major problem for Liberia and the situation is not unique to the Soul Clinic Community alone, she said.
She added that her cardinal responsibility to undertake a road rehabilitation project must be done in collaboration with relevant government authority – the Ministry of Public Works.
She said allotment has been made in the 2019/2020 Fiscal Budget to tackle deplorable community roads in the country.
Representative Dennis also assured the protesting residents that community election will be held in the soonest possible time.
She also assured the protesting residents that “all is underway to connect the community to the electricity power grid”, adding that LEC agents are currently working on the completion phase of the electricity connection process.