FRAMP capacity building w/shop set for Monday

The Feeder Roads Alternative Maintenance Program (FRAMP), a four-year USIAD-funded project, will this Monday, September 12, begin a week-long training and capacity building program in Gbargna, Bong County for community-based organizations (CBOs) in the areas of organization, business development and routine maintenance operations.

Acting chief of party of FRAMP, Dr. Frederick M. Were-Higenyi, said the Gbargna training is an initial launch of its activities in the country, noting that the project is to create access to market and basic social services, which is a key determinant of poverty.

He said the training will cover topics such as introduction to road maintenance, routine maintenance activities, and routine maintenance work organization, among others. According to a press release, Dr. Were-Higenyi said without physical access, rural communities face far greater obstacles in obtaining wealth, health, education and other social services, adding that their ability to take advantage of surplus crop production and employment opportunities is severely constrained.

He noted FRAMP is aligned with the government of Liberia’s policies, as set forth in key national development documents, including the Agenda for Transformation, the transport master plan, decentralization policy, and the proposed local government act, stating that it is integral to the USAID-Liberia country development cooperation strategy.

According to him, FRAMP will provide periodic maintenance activities of 120-kilometer roads in four counties over the life of the project. “FRAMP will also implement activities to support the Government of Liberia’s policy on decentralization and local governance”, he added.

Liberia’s decentralization policy indicates that, by the end of the decentralization period in 2021, some of the responsibilities will be removed from the Ministry of Public Works and devolved to local governments, ensure compliance with zoning laws and regulations; construction and maintenance of water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities; construction and maintenance of secondary and feeder roads and bridges and road-side brushing and maintenance, drainage cleaning and betterment.

“FRAMP will prepare the local government to take on the new responsibilities listed above, and also the MPW to provide appropriate regulation, policies and enforcement of established standards. FRAMP will support local county government in the pilot regions to take over the above responsibilities in feeder roads construction and maintenance. FRAMP interventions will be focused at the district and county levels, with strategic capacity building and technical assistance to MPW in support of coordination, program monitoring, reporting, design and planning”, he noted.

FRAMP is a four-year USAID funded-program to establish a sustainable, cost-effective feeder road network in Liberia. The program’s operations are in Bong, Nimba, Lofa and Grand Bassa counties. The operation include supervising road construction, managing road maintenance, training engineers, administrators, local engineering firms, and community-based organizations, student internship and testing low-volume road seals.

The training will bring together several community-based organizations (CBOs) from Nimba, Bong, Lofa and Grand Bassa counties, including Zon-Goh-She Development Association (ZDA), Zoe-Geh District, Nimba County; Yeapukiema Development Association (YDA), Jorquelleh District; Kulaitomor Development Association (KDA), Kpai District, Bong County; Voinjama-Quardu Gbondi Develoment Association (VQDA), Quardu Gbondi Development Association (QDA), Lofa County, respectively.