Weah wants Sanniquellie reconnected

Following the collapse of Gbor-Payee Bridge

By Emmanuel wise Jipoh 

President George Weah has instructed the Ministry of Public Works to rehabilitate the Gbor-Payee Bridge that connects Sanniquellie City in Nimba County for easy access.

President Weah said rehabilitation of the entire route between the town and the administrative capital is essential for free movement of goods and services especially, the Gbor-Payee Bridge linking the historic city.

Sanniquellie hosted the first West African Conference on formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on July 15-19, 1959 attended by late Presidents William V.S. Tubman of Liberia, Sekou Ameh Toure of Guinea and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, respectively. That conference subsequently gave birth to the OAU now the African Union (AU).

President Weah gave the instruction on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, after a visit to Gbor-Payee, Nimba County. The visit followed the conclusion of a four-day Special Cabinet Retreat held in Ganta, Gompa City.

Public Works Minister Ruth Coker-Collins, assured the President of quick rehabilitation of the Gbor-Payee Bridge, immediately instructing engineers and technicians to assess status of the bridge for possible rehabilitation.

Minister Coker-Collins then reaffirmed Government of Liberia’s commitment to completing 400 kilometers of roads currently under construction across the country before end of the remaining 16 months of Weah’s Presidency. 

She revealed that of the targeted 400 kilometers of roads, the government has already completed about 209 kilometers.

She said government is ambitious to construct 1,150 kilometers of roads in the country, something she noted, will be the largest in the history of Liberia.

“In the history of the Ministry of Public Works, the President is running the largest portfolio of road networks,” she added.

Minister Coker-Collins indicated that research has been conducted on number of roads connected by every government in the history of the country, which revealed that the Weah administration is doing more in its quest to connect the country.

“We have checked and researched the entire Ministry of Public Works database and we saw that the number of roads we are working on is the longest in the history of our country.” Editing by Jonathan Browne