A newly constructed estate by the Government of Liberia in the densely populated New Kru Town community risks not being occupied due to sea erosion.Residents caution that if urgent steps were not taken to erect a coastal defense in specifically Corner West Popo Beach community, where the second phase of the government housing estate is located, the project could become meaningless due to threat from sea erosion.
A visit by the New Dawn to the estate recently discovered that would-be occupants of the facility are currently finding it difficult if not impossible to sleep because of delay by relevant authority to distribute the houses to individuals that should occupied them.
The nearly one hundred housing units were constructed by the Government of Liberia (GoL) through the Liberia Agency for Community Development after previous makeshift structures there were completely destroyed by erosion.
Currently, the sea is about less than four minutes’ walk away from the estate, a situation that seriously worries residents of the community for fear that the raging sea could consume the remaining portion of land left in front of the estate.
One of the would-be occupants Ma Mary Wleh Koffa laments they are going through a very difficult time with their children due to lack of shelters to sleep since the project started last year.
She recalls they were previously informed by the community leadership that only those residents whose houses were destroyed by the sea erosion, would be placed in the housing units under a specific agreement with the government, but since then, nothing has been done about their plight and now the rainy season is here.
Madam Koffa calls on President George Weah and authorities of the National Housing Authority (NHA) to quickly do something about their plight to prevent their children from fallen sick from the cold breeze.
The coastal defense of the Municipal Borough of New Kru Town which started under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is yet to reach the Popo Beach community, as the firm executing the project only placed rocks at the end of the Corner West community thereby, leaving a very large portion without any coastal defense to protect the newly constructed units meant for under-privileged Liberians.
During an inspection of the Coastal Defense project first phase, President George M. Weah expressed dislike for manner in which work on the project was proceeding, requesting the contractor to further push back the sea to create more land space for use by the inhabitants of the Borough of New Kru Town, something that is yet to be done.
By Emmanuel Mondaye–Editing by Jonathan Browne
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