Bong Sitting postponed again

The Bong County development sitting has been postponed indefinitely. According to the county authorities, the sitting, previously scheduled last Friday, was postponed due to the absence of leadership of the Bong County Legislative Caucus.

The authorities said since the resignation of Representative George Mulbah as Chairman of the Caucus on the 30th of January, no one has come forth to take his place. The postponement of the County Sitting, which brings together delegates from the various districts of Bong to map the development priorities of the county, continues to meet serious resistance from civil society in the county.

Aaron Juakollie of the Foundation for International Dignity (FIND) and Jessey Cole of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) both argued that the resignation of Representative Mulbah cannot be an obstacle to the holding of the development sitting.

The two civil society officials threatened to take the issue to the Supreme Court, if the local authorities continue to delay the sitting. Aaron and Jessey said the Supreme Court will have to interpret whether the sitting should not be held in the absence of a leadership of the lawmakers.

Though the Caucus Deputy Chairman, Representative Adam Bill Conneh resigned during the heat of the 2011 elections on grounds that he could not work with corrupt people, the civil society officials expressed the belief that there was still leadership structure in place. In December last year, the sitting was postponed with the county administration blaming same on its inability to access the budget law as the reason for the postponement.

However, during a local radio talk show in Gbarnga last Saturday, Representative Prince Moye told the people of Bong County that the county did not have any money in its coffers, and could not implement projects even if the sitting were to be held. He said concession companies obliged to give Bong County over two million U.S dollars annually do not deal with the country’s fiscal year, but the calendar year.

Rep. Moye disclosed that they were currently perusing Superintendent Mappay’s administration financial report submitted to them finally after more than three weeks of delay.

The lawmaker stated that the financial report covers the resolution reached at the last county development sitting, adding that the lawmakers wanted to know how monies allocated for projects were expended. According to him, the report must also be understood before the county sitting, and will not want to witness a power point presentation as it is often done in the setting.

Lawmaker supports self-initiative

Bong County Electoral District #2 Representative Prince Karmue Moye, has presented several pieces of road building materials to the Paylaluwah-Bei River Road project. Materials provided include five shovels, five diggers, five pink axes and four wheelbarrows with five thousand Liberian Dollars as his initial contribution to the project.

Representative Moye assured citizens of the community that he would ensure the reconditioning of the road with assistance from the national government. The lawmaker noted that in this century, it would sounds awkward for people to still construct roads with their hands, emphasizing that as a representative of his people, he envisions standard road works.

Representative Moye then committed himself to the speedy completion of the project. Receiving the donation, the Secretary-General of the self-help initiative, P. Awakayah Sumo thanked Moye for the items, and assured him that the tools would be used for the intended purpose, adding that the lack of roads has hindered development in the district.