The Acting EPA chief has suggested that establishing the Bong County Development Corporation will mitigate poverty and buttress central development efforts.
By Lincoln G. Peters
Monrovia, April 1, 2024: Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Executive Director, Dr. Emmanuel King Urey-Yarkpawolo, has proposed the establishment of a Bong County Development Corporation (BCDC).
Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo’s proposal was contained in a keynote speech he made at the first commencement convocation of the Sumo Moye Memorial Technical College in Gbarnga, Bong County, on 30 March 2024.
“I propose the establishment of the Bong County Development Corporation (BCDC) with the county development fund as the largest shareholder. The idea is to use a business model to support development using sports as a unifying tool,” said Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo.
The Acting EPA chief said the corporation’s establishment will mitigate poverty across the country and buttress central development efforts.
He suggested that the BCDC is an innovation to solve some development challenges and stalled development projects in Bong County.
Citing an example, he disclosed that several major projects were identified in the County Development Agenda, which was developed in 2007 and has an implementation timeline from 2008 to 2012.
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He said they included constructing and rehabilitating 144 roads, seven major bridges, six high schools, 83 elementary schools, two teacher training centers, and two nursing schools.
He added that they included 64 health clinics/health centers, midwifery clinics, and two hospitals.
“Seventeen years after the first post-war development agenda was developed for Bong County, little has been achieved,” Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo lamented.
“Development Leagues as an instrument for development: What I envision and propose is using sports as a development tool to rally our people to support the implementation of these projects,” he urged.
With the support of the Bong County Development Corporation, he said each major town could have a football and kickball team named after it (many of these towns already have these teams).
Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo expressed appreciation to Bong County Senator Prince Kermue Moye for the school, which has the potential to offer first-class education to the people of Bong County.
Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo said he was humbled by the invitation to speak at the first commencement of Sumo Moye Memorial Technical College.
“For the next few minutes, I will stand at this podium. I like to hopefully inspire not only our graduates who are hopeful of better lives after graduating today, but the entire citizens of Bong County, a county with huge development potential but is yet to lift its people out of poverty,” said Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo.
“I hope to harness each of our intellectual and practical abilities and use these collectively to develop our county,” he continued.
