Nimba County’s district #9 Representative, Johnson Gwaikolo, has described as national priority a bill pending before the House of Representative to amend the act creating the National Road Fund of Liberia (NRF).
According to Representative Gwaikolo, there is public concern for road network everywhere they go; as such, there is a need for the bill to be treated as a national priority in order to strengthen the NRF and make it more responsive in handling its operation.
The lawmaker told newsmen over the weekend, “Everywhere we go, there is a concern for road network, and the reason for that is roads help to improve access to economic, health and education activities—every aspect of life. So, with good road network we can have easier opportunities for our people.”
Representative Gwaikolo emphasized that the NRF has to be strengthened by restructuring the legislation that created it so that it can become autonomous, have more strength and be responsive to its own operation activities.
He argued that the NRF amendment bill has to be looked at from all dimensions and context. “Right now, the road fund has limited autonomy, but if you place it within its own framework, where the entity would be able to raise the funds through the proper channel, then there is an opportunity for high accountability,” he sounded.
Observers have intoned that road network is one of the near-successful pillars of the “Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD)”, with the Ministry of Public Works affirming the fact that it has been heavily supported by the Road Fund Office.
However, the Chief Executive Officer of the NRF, Boniface Satu, has underscored that the only way the NRF can reach the peak of its performance is by elevating its status to an autonomous agency, which will then capacitate the agency to source funding, mitigate fund flow risk and allow matching funds and international financial institutions to lend money for road infrastructure.
According to Satu, the NRF was established to improve on road financing and management, but refusing to grant the entity an autonomous status could hamper it achieving its goals. He disclosed that the NRF of Liberia is still at a first generation stage, thus heavily controlled by the government, which he said is somehow causing donor fatigue toward financing its projects.
He maintained that elevating the status of the NRF could increase donor appetite to support the nation’s road sector, participate in public-private partnership (PPP), matching funds, cost recovery, etc.
He appealed to the conscience of the members of the National Legislature to swiftly act on the bill before them, which he, too, describe as national interest.
The bill seeking to repeal the National Road Fund Act of 2016 was introduced at the House of Representative by Margibi County’s district #1 Representative, Tibelrosa S. Tarponweh, in July 2022.
Since Representative Tarponweh introduced the bill in plenary, it has continued to gain support from the general public, which stand to be the direct beneficiary of it. The National Civil Society Union of Liberia (NACSUL) is one among many civil organizations calling on the House to see the bill as a national priority, as it stands to relieve farmers, marketers, students, as well as government workers from economic hardship. According to the group, when there is road everywhere, the cost to transport goods and services will heavily reduce and cause economic relief.