Liberia: President Weah County Tour Implementation Receives US$ 1 Million

Liberia: The Liberian Government has announced the provision of the initial amount of US$ 1 million for the continued incremental implementation of the projects emanating from President Weah’s recent County Tour.

In a press release issued by the Ministry of Information on Tuesday, it said the amount which was provided through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, is a demonstration of the Government’s strong commitment to implementing projects promised by Mr. Weah during the tour.

The Ministry noted that this initial funding will progressively accelerate the implementation of the President’s developmental commitments to the people of the country. 

It can be noted that in his quest to decentralize development and growth across the country, President Weah visited 14 of the 15 counties this year to listen to the development needs of the people. Excluding Montserrado County, which is yet to be visited due to the intensity of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Weah listened to the hundreds of petitions from millions of Liberians in the rural counties and promised to address their socio-economic and infrastructure development needs.

President Weah who is unhappy with the chronic and dismal level of underdevelopment plaguing the country since it was founded about 200 years ago in 1822, committed to implementing over 400 projects across the country to achieve fiscal and infrastructural decentralization of the country’s resources to benefit rural Liberians.

The implementation of the over 400 project commitments made by the President will cost millions of United States dollars, including roads, hospitals, clinics, schools, TVET centers, market buildings, city halls, youth centers, women centers, disabled community centers and housing, and pro-poor housing constructions, as well as providing funding to market women and local farmers to stimulate and support the rural economy, while also providing streetlights and other electrification projects across the entire country to foster national development. As a result, this $1 million will begin the implementation of a few of the over 400 projects across the entire country during the 2021 budget year. Therefore, President Weah is calling on all Liberians within the various counties and districts to exercise patience as more resources will be allocated in the 2022 and 2023 national budgets to fully fulfill these promises as an expression of his passionate commitment to assuring the inclusive development of the country.” The release said.

It said to ensure the efficient and effective implementation of the projects, all projects that are selected under this first tranche of US$ 1 million will commence by November 20, 2021, with the expected completion date set for March 2022. 

The ministry further stated that the projects will largely be implemented by LACE and other relevant Lead Agencies of the Government with oversight leadership from the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and other relevant agencies of the Government, while the County Tour Technical Secretariat will provide operational support and coordination for the effective implementation of the projects.

It noted that the Ministry of Public Works will implement a large portfolio of roads and infrastructure projects under the County Tour framework while having technical oversight on the infrastructure-related projects. On the business empowerment and agriculture fronts, the Ministries of Commerce and Agriculture will drive the market women US$ 2 million loan and farmers’ US$ 16 million agriculture support schemes, while the Gender Ministry and the Ministry of Youth and Sports will implement the social services and youth empowerment-related projects. The energy and city electrification projects will be implemented by Rural Renewable Energy Agency with support from the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

The Ministry again noted that under the President’s Commitments, the country will see the construction and upgrading of many hospitals, clinics, universities, and schools from the Ministries of Health and Education, respectively.

The implementation of these projects, it said will add to the large number of County Tour-related projects that are currently ongoing across the country, including the 100 beds Bopolu Hospital in Gbarpolu County and the newly constructed Gbediah Hospital in Rivercess County.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/county-tour-gives-voice-to-rural-people/