MPW Healed Belle Yella’s Woe

Since the formation of Liberia in 1847, the Belle District of Gbarpolu saw the first motor vehicle ply its soil in 2011 with the efforts of the Atty. Samuel Kofi Woods, II administered Public Works Ministry under the Unity Party (UP) led government. As the late Belle chief, Jallah Lone, accounted the people of Citizens of Belle Yella in 1926 tried to construct a road to link them with the rest of Gbarpolu with their bare hands but abandoned the struggle due to lack of support from the Charles D.B. King government. In 2006 when President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took over the presidency, she promised infrastructure development to all part of the country the Bopolu-Belle Yella road being one of the developmental projects. Though slowed by some unforeseen circumstances the Belle Yella road project encountered during its construction this year, the people of Gbarpolu County, especially Belle Yella District now enjoys a 41 miles road which links them to the rest of the county. Knowing the importance of the road to the county’s history, Minister Woods expressed concern over the slow progress of the road project and instituted new measures which sped up the project until its completion in late June. The ministers and some partners assessed the road works in the county and eventually had PEALAT, the company awarded the bid of to construct the road, sub-contracted TEAM, a company specialized in bridge building, to give contractors a more specific task to complete in considerable period. At a meeting after the assessment, it was decided Pealat Construction submitted a comprehensive work schedule for the project which was funded by Liberian Taxpayers’ Money to create direct access to Belle Yalla which was cut off from the rest of the country before beginning of this year rainy season. Also at the meeting, the Resident Engineer and Project Consultant at the time were mandated to submit a weekly work- progress-report in line with the already submitted work schedule to the Minister and Senior Management Team. To checkmate possible fraud individuals may have gotten involve, verbal or oral discussion and communication without documentary backup was no longer accepted by the MPW Senior Management so far as matters relating to the Belle Yella Road project were concerned. The move excepted by the MPW official allowed the main contractors to concentrate on the road thus speeding up the project. The completion of the 41 mile road in that part of the country was a fulfillment of some of the unity party led government promise of infrastructure development to the people of gbarpolu yea Liberia.