MONROVIA – On Tuesday, the Senate voted to cite and demand the managers of the National Road Fund to submit a performance report on the management of the funds. The Senate’s decision comes in the wake of delay by the Ministry of Public Works to complete the Gbarnga to Salayea road. The amount in question US$1.4 million for 45km road.
Senator Steve Zargo (LP-Lofa Couty) has on many occasions raised concerns about the deplorable condition of the road especially during the raining season. His complaints caught the attention of his colleagues who agreed to invite Acting Public Works Minister Ruth Coker Collins.
During her appearance, she informed plenary that the government needs US$1.3 million to resettle citizens who are in close proximity to the road and when that is done work on the road will commence.
Constituting itself into a committee of a whole, the Senate plenary voted through a motion from Senator Varney Sherman of Grand Cape Mount County to request performance report from the managers of the road funds.
The request is due to the executive branch of government failure to raise US$1.3 million to complete preparation works for the completion of the Lofa road.
“I move that we cite managers of the road fund to give performance report for the last three years and thereafter we explore the possibility of taking resources from that road fund for this particular project,” Senator Sharman stated.
In 2016, the Liberian Government signed a landmark Loan Agreement with the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) for the immediate pavement of the Gbarnga-Salayea Road. Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister, Amara Mohammed Konneh and Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, Director General of the OPEC Fund for International Development on Monday, February 22, 2016 in Vienna, Austria signed the landmark Loan Agreement worth US$20 Million to support the pavement of the first phase of the Gbarnga-Mendikorma Road project.
The road project is significant given the importance of agricultural activities in that part of the country, will also accelerate regional trade and commerce, as well as the overall economic development of Liberia.
The road funds
On December 12, 2016 the National Road Fund Act, was enacted and published January 26, 2017. A National Road Fund Office (NRFO) was set up in Ministry of Finance Development Planning (MFDP) 1st floor room 61.
The NRFO is responsible for the day to day management and administration of the National Road Fund and headed by the National Road Fund Manager, Republic of Liberia.
Purpose of the road fund include; financing road and bridge maintenance works and directly associated planning, programming and management activities;
The governance and oversight of the Road Fund including the approval of the Annual Road Maintenance Expenditure Program submitted by agencies authorized to undertake road and bridge works in Liberia;
The NRFO is an administrative structure that is capable of undertaking the core functions associated with collecting, managing and disbursing funds to and on behalf of agencies authorized to undertake road and bridge works in Liberia.
The Objectives: is to ensure that road assets are sustained and that sufficient funds for both periodic and routine maintenance are allocated for this purpose, to ensure that each of the categories of national, sub-national and feeder roads have a sufficient share of the total budget such that these roads can operate as an integrated network.
The objective also includes to defray the costs of loans approved by Government to extend the length of maintainable roads, to ensure that the needs of the road users and those impacted by roads are considered in terms of safety, security and environment. as an entity that will is dealing with a lot of financial transactions, and in order to begin on a sound financial system, the National Road Fund would will be charge with the responsibility to develop and implement sound financial systems that comply with internationally accepted accounting standards generally applicable to not for profit organizations. Functions of the National Road.