MONROVIA – Representative Edward Papay-Flomo (District #13, Montserrado County) has expressed his commitment to actively engage his constituents in order to address major problems affecting them.
According to Rep. Flomo, lawmakers will not be successful in the execution of their three cardinal responsibilities which include representation, lawmaking and oversight if they do not directly invest and actively participate in the development drive of their districts.
This, he said, entails using personal fund and robustly advocating for the district at the Legislature and demanding corporate entities to live up to their social responsibilities.
In an exclusive interview with FrontPage Africa recently, he outlined several development initiatives he has undertaken within the first three years in office amid growing economic challenges and vowed to work with his people to complete all of the projects that have been earmarked.
“Central Government alone cannot to all at once, especially giving the enormous development priorities it has. So, we as lawmakers, should see reasons to intervene when it is necessary,” he said.
“If we just sit and say our job is to represent, make law and perform oversight without getting involving in solving some of the problems our people are facing, our effort will just be like you are wasting water on the back of a duck.”
He said it is against this background that his office has been very instrumental in crafting and developing a robust strategic frame-work that contained the inclusiveness of the district’s transformation agenda following series of consultations with the people drawn from all sectors: youth, women leaders and the elder council.
With this, his office was able to constructively engaged stakeholders in all sectors of the district to identified tangible development projects for citizens’ participation in respect to sustainable community growth and economic viability.
According to him, those consultative meetings between his office and the citizens yielded fruitful results aimed at identifying several community-based programs in different parts of the district covering education, health, care, road rehabilitation, market buildings, sports pitch, community town hall projects, bridges, pipe borne-water, scholarship programs and the provision of micro-finance loans programs, among others.
The Town Hall Projects
In an exclusive interview with the lawmaker, he named several town hall projects that have been completed, among them, the New Georgia Gulf Community Hall, Plumkor Community Hall in New Georgia, the Darquee Town Community Hall, the Honorable Flomo Community Hall in Bilimah Community, and the Bassa Town Community Hall in Jamaica Road. The Flahn Town and Chocolate City Communities’ Halls are still undergoing construction.
The lawmaker also mentioned the construction of several footpath bridges, among them, the Gyude Bryant Bridge-between New Georgia and the J. Darpoe Reeves Communities and the ongoing Sawmill- footpath- Cemented bridge construction in the Sawmill Community, among others.
The lawmaker is also in the vanguard of advocating for clean water for his constituents. Through his robust advocacy, residents of Darquee Town, Flahn town, Battery Factory and Plank Field Communities are now benefiting from the provision of Pipe Borne water; something he termed as one of his major achievements; saying ‘one who brings water brings life’.
Other Major Achievements
On the list of the lawmaker’s major achievements include the construction of the Battery Factory Sports Pitch and roads linking Battery Factory with the Stockton Creek Community, the Caroline Edward Financial Aid Program that is benefitting over 3000 students attending both high school and tertiary institutions. In addition, he named his loan scheme that is benefiting over 300 Small businesses in the District as major accomplishments since his election in 2018 to the Liberian Legislature.
As a way of prioritizing and protecting the rights and welfare of citizens, the lawmaker has also been having series of discussions with corporate and business institutions in the District in reference to adhering to their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) towards the people of the District for the provision of needed benefits.
In fulfillment of this quest, the Management of CEMENCO, Sethi Brothers Inc., ‘Ever Bright Sand Mining Community’ and Britone-National Paint Industry have been in straight adherence with their CSR following his constructive engagement.
The Management of CEMENCO and Sethi Brothers have allotted US$16,000 each to four communities including Bilimah, Sawmill, Central Jamaica Road, and Bassa Town annually as per their corporate social responsibility. These progress are being made as a result of the exercise of his three cardinal responsibilities which include lawmaking, oversight and adequate representation, he said.
The war against COVIID-19
Asserting on his significant strides geared towards combining efforts with national government, development partners as well as the citizens of electoral district #13, to contain the spread of the deadly COVID-19, Rep. Flomo said several anti-COVID-19 materials were purchased by his office for onward distribution to the citizens during the heat of the pandemic. He named the provision of Chlorox, chlorine, buckets, hand sanitizers and nose-masks, couple with a robust feeding program that characterized the distribution of thousands of bags of rice to residents of the district.
About the Lawmaker
Before his election in 2014, Rep. Flomo was a staunch member of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC). At one point in 2004, he served as a personal guide to President Weah, then the standard bearer of the CDC. He was elected as an independent candidate in a hotly contested by-election that took place as the result of the void left by then Representative Saah Joseph following his election as Senator of Montserrado County in the 2017 Presidential and Legislative polls.