Zwedru – Residents of Zwedru City in Grand Gedeh County are now experiencing economic growth and improved healthcare delivery due to the rehabilitation of the Ganta-Zwedru corridor by the Unity Party (UP) led-government of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai.
By Obediah Johnson, [email protected]
As part of President Boakai’s 100-day deliverables, the government, through the Ministry of Public Works, reconditioned multiple roads across the country, including the Ganta to Zwedru corridor
The amount of $22M was set aside, through budgetary allocation, for the implementation of the project. However, the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) has reported that it has only expended and disbursed about $8.9M from the amount allotted.
The Ganta-Zwedru road rehabilitation project has greatly impacted the locals in Zwedru and other parts of Grand Gedeh, as the prices of basic commodities have reduced to a greater extent as compared to the past, locals say.
It also prompted improvement in commercial activities, as many other citizens are contemplating on either improving or establishing their businesses to boost economic growth and development.
For several decades, the Ganta-Zwedru corridor has been disastrous to travel due to the prolong nature of its appalling state.
However, the latest intervention made by the government is erasing the scars and memories that the bad road condition left in the minds of the locals.
Prince Freeman is a trader of petroleum products in Zwedru City. According to him, the deplorable road condition of the Ganta-Zwederu corridor was a contributing factor for the hike in the prices of gasoline and diesel in the county.
He recalled that transporting petroleum products on the deplorable roads was a risky venture for local petrol dealers.
Freeman admitted that the prices of petroleum products were hiked by local traders due to the constraints they faced in getting their products from large filling stations and others.
“The prices of petroleum products used to be high because, we faced problem with transportation. Our goods were always threatened because when the roads are not good, sometimes the truck will fall down and you will lose and your money will leave there.”
According to him, local traders of petroleum products travelled for hours in the mud to get their goods from Ganta via commercial motorcycles.
“For now, the business is at least okay. The sales are improving, but a little bit slow because many people are bringing in goods at the same time now.”
No delay
Local importers of petroleum products were reluctant to transport petroleum products to south-eastern Liberia due to the deplorable nature of the corridor.
On the other hand, large filling stations also reneged on establishing more branches there as a result of similar situation.
Despite paying for their goods in Monrovia, it could take several weeks, a month or two for tankers or trucks to transport diesel and gasoline from Monrovia to Grand Gedeh.
But the latest rehabilitation of the corridor has paved the way for the rapid transporting of petroleum products in the area.
“The way the road is good now; you get your money, you go and get your products like today-the next day you start selling because there is no delay. Our major problem was from Ganta to Zwedru here. Now that the roads have been rehabilitated, it’s so good for us.”
Gasoline-from L$2500 to L$850
Prior to the rehabilitation of the Ganta-Zwedru corridor, the cost of a gallon of gasoline was between L$2000 to L$2500 in Zwedru and some parts of Grand Gedeh County.
However, the current price of a gallon of gasoline stands at L$850 as compared to L$750 in Monrovia.
Freeman vowed to bring in more gallons of petroleum products to trade in Grand Gedeh if the roads accessibility is sustainable.
He called for support to be provided to local traders in the country, with a promise to establish additional filling stations across the county due to the progress made on the Ganta-Zwedru corridor by the Boakai-Koung administration.
Freeman underscored the need for future Liberian leaders to continue road construction and rehabilitation across the country.
He observed that most often, national leaders abandoned the projects left behind by their predecessors to focus on their own developmental agenda.
This, he added, continues to slow down rapid infrastructural developments in Liberia.
“We pray that all the Presidents that will come in the future, they should work together. If John Brown leaves and Peter comes, let Peter to work and do more than what the person who left from there did.”
Rice, L$8,000 to L$3,800
A 25kg bag of rice was previously sold for L$7,000 to L$8,000 in Zwedru and other parts of Grand Gedeh County prior to the rehabilitation of the roads by the current administration.
In some places, the availability of the product was scarce. At times, the search for the commodity was like a rush for gold dust.
But presently, the price of a 25kg bag of rice has drastically dropped to L$8,000.
“The reason the rice price was so high here was because of the road conditions; you can’t be paying around L$10,000 or L$20,000 from Zwedru to Ganta or Monrovia to buy rice and you come and sell it the same way people are selling it in Monrovia. We too, we had to make profit for our families to survive,” Patricia Doe, a local trader of rice in Zwedru stated.
She noted that marketers were constrained to leave their homes and school-going children by spending weeks in commercial trucks, taxis or motorcycles that normally get struck in the mud.
She added that the huge difficulties they encountered on muddy roads are contributing factors which triggered increase in the price of rice in the county.
“We used to really, really suffer on that road there. Sometimes when our car breaks down, we have to walk for hours to get to the next town just to spread our lappas to sleep somewhere. All of what we normally go through can make us to add the price up. But for now, we selling rice L$3,800 for bag because, we are not suffering like the way we used to suffer before just to get market.”
Oretha Smith, is a local business woman residing in Toe’s Town in Grand Gedeh County.
“First, we were suffering but for now, the roads are okay. We used to pay L$2500 from here to Ganta when the road was bad on motorbike but for now we paying L$800.”
She observed that though their goods are not being speedily purchased, the rehabilitation of the roads has helped to alleviate some of the constraints they were faced with in transporting their goods.
“The buying system is still the same; but we tell God thank you that the roads are better now and we can’t suffer like the way we used to suffer before.”
Drop in transportation fares
“Last year the road was very bad; but this year, it’s okay. I can now go Maryland and Ganta and come back the same day. When the road was bad, I used to sleep on the road. But now, you can go and come back the same day. This shows that the President is working,” Stephen Kruah, a commercial motorcyclist noted.
From Zwedru to Ganta was between L$8,000 to L$9000 depending on the number of passengers travelling on a commercial motorcycle during the bad state of the road.
Currently, the fare is between L$2,500 to L$3000.
No more damages
Commercial motorcyclists and drivers observed that the rehabilitation of the road would prevent them from spending more on the servicing of their vehicles and motorcycles.
They noted that the deplorable state of the road in the past regularly constrained them to spend monies generated from passengers to purchase spare parts.
“Last year, we bought gasoline here for L$2500 because of the bad road; but I’m happy that everything is okay now; I am satisfied with the roads. The way we used to strain when we are riding, we can’t strain like that again and the way our bikes used to spoil, it’s not like that again,” Alioubay Konneh, another motorcyclist maintained.
Health care delivery improved
Alex Grant is the current Superintendent of Grand Gedeh. According to him, health care delivery has significant improved in the county due to the reconditioning of the Ganta-Zwedru corridor.
He observed that many public medical facilities operating in the county were deprived from receiving their fair share of medication from the Ministry of Health in Monrovia due to the bad state of the road.
Superintendent Grant added that health care workers were also facing multiple constraints to get their remunerations or stipend.
He said the health sector in the county was heavily challenged due to the failure of the pat government to improve the road conditions.
“For less than three months, we have gotten the roads rehabilitated and our people can move freely in and out and patients are visiting the hospitals frequently, I think we are getting somewhere. In fact, the first and second quarter of drugs have already been delivered to our hospitals and clinics in Grand Gedeh County. Sometimes, drugs were not even served after a whole year because of transportation difficulties.”
According to him, professional nurses, physicians and other healthcare workers are eager to seek assignment in Grand Gedeh, following the rehabilitation of the roads.
Superintendent Grant emphasized that the intervention made by the government in the south-eastern region is a clear manifestation of its commitment to alleviate the constraints and improve the living conditions of citizens.
He said though those from the opposition would not testify to the gains and economic benefits the newly rehabilitated corridor would have on citizens of Grand Gedeh, the move is a remarkable and impactful milestone.
As part of efforts to sustain the “no car gets stuck in the mud” policy of President Boakai, earth moving equipment were seen mounted along the Ganta-Zwedru corridor.
The route is also accessible to smaller vehicles, including taxis, amongst others.
Prior to the rehabilitation of the corridor, it took more than 15 hours or a day from Monrovia to Zwedru City on a commercial vehicle. Presently, it is a six-hour drive.
The route would be busier as compared to other corridors near Monrovia due to the interests and commitments being expressed by many citizens in Grand Gedeh to engage into commercial activities to boost the economy as a result of the rehabilitation of the Ganta-Zwedru road.