V.P. Boakai wants service centers utilized

Vice Presidebt Boakai cutting the ribbons to the Nimba County Service Center

Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai has called on the people of Nimba County to make effective use of the Service Center dedicated in the county.

Speaking Monday, 2 May during the dedicatory ceremony in Sanniquellie, Nimba County, Vice President Boakai said, the County Service Center is part of government’s decentralization program, aimed at opening the governance process.

He said similar centers have been dedicated in Kakata, Gbarnga and Buchanan, respectively with the latest dedicated in Sanniquellie bringing to four the number such centers in the country. At the dedication of the Bong County’s Service Center recently in Gbarnga, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said the center is intended to bring the government closer to the people. The Service Center is expected to provide 21 services, including processing of birth certificates, driver licenses, land deeds and payment of taxes.

This part of the government’s National Policy on Decentralization and Local Governance adopted by the cabinet and launched in 2012 as a legal framework upon which De-concentration could be achieved. The Vice President disclosed government’s plan to dedicate a total of 13 county service centers across the country by July.

He urged the people of Nimba to utilize the efficiency and effectiveness of the facility, stressing “that this beautiful edifice shouldn’t become an underused facility to depict yet another proverbial white elephant.” He said the exercise has paid off qualitatively, which has enabled the government to employ forward actions for the processes to be better directed.

He commended various development partners, including the European Union, United Nations Development Program, USAID, the Kingdom of Sweden, and the United Nations Mission in Liberia for the success of the program so far.

The occasion was graced by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Dr. Henrique F. Tokpa; Governance Commission Chair, Dr. Amos Sawyer, and Dr. Frederick Norkeh, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications; and Representatives Prince O.S. Tokpah and Larry Younquoi, among others.

Nimba County superintendent Fong Zuagele, thanked President Sirleaf and Vice President Boakai for the level of development in his county. Superintendent Zuagele pledged his continuous commitment to the government in its drive to bring development to the people.

2016-05-03 01:43:43The centers will offer variety of services such as issuances of traditional marriage certificates, Liberian-owned sole proprietorship business registration and foreign-owned sole proprietorship, petty trade category ‘C’, alien work permit and driver licenses, zoning and land use permit, county treasurer and vehicle registration, birth registration, school operation licenses, letters of administration and deed registration certificates, among others.

-Editing by Jonathan Browne