Ellen dedicates 52 housing units
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has dedicated 52 housing units of the Ben Town Housing Estate in Marshall, Margibi County. The units – phase 1 of the project constructed by the National Housing Authority or NHA, comprise three beds rooms, two bath rooms, Kitchen, as well as living and dining rooms each.
They are all acquired through a montage loan program at the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment or LBDI for low income earners. Speaking at the dedicatory ceremony on Tuesday, President Sirleaf expressed gratitude to the NHA for taking bore steps in implementing the project as part of the government’s plan for the agenda of transformation in the country.
She said it was a good idea to create more housing facilities for citizens in need of a place to stay, saying “it takes a while for me to be convinced about the potentials of the Managing Director, Mr. Samuel Wlue who has led his team to implement these projects; what am pleased about is that all these things are being done by our own people who are the contractors – we say thank you for the job well done,” she added.
President Sirleaf further pointed out that by building the units was not all to the solution to Liberia’s problems. “People that will be staying here, especially the children, need to have access to basic things; I’m sorry that the Ministers of Education and Health are not here; but let me convey my message to them to see reason in building schools and clinics for the betterment of the residents that will be living here,” she said.
Giving an overview of the housing estate, the Project Coordinator at National Housing Authority, James D. Kanneh, indicated that as part of the NHA’s mandate to plan, initiate and construct affordable homes for low income earners in the country, the NHA was executing its mandate, through the financial efforts of the Government of Liberia and its Development Partners.
Mr. Kanneh noted that the total cost of the projects was about US$4.2m. He said the government alone could not do all, but it was under obligation to empower its citizens without the means of reaching somewhere.
A few months ago, President Sirleaf mandated heads of government ministries to commit US$5,000 each from their allotments as initial payments for 20 housing units for health workers at the National Housing Authority (NHA) in Brewerville, Montserrado County.
By Lewis S. Teh – Edited by George Barpeen
