The much-anticipated second phase of President George M. Weah’s nationwide tour is expected to begin today, Monday, March 22, 2021, and ends in a week’s time.
The second phase of the tour will cover three counties: Bomi, Grand Cape Mount and Gbarpolu, according to the Presidential Press Secretary, Solomon Kelgbeh.
Similar to the first phase, President Weah is expected to perform groundbreaking and dedication ceremonies in these counties, hold town hall meetings with the residents and, most importantly, understand the reality and actual happenings in those parts of the country.
Even though the entire nationwide tour was speculated to be in two folds, the wisdom of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government has cut short the second phase for three counties only, with the anticipation to cover the remaining counties in another phase.
President Weah and his team successfully toured six counties during the first phase of the tour: Bong, Nimba, Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Maryland and Grand Kru. For the first time in many years some of these counties tasted development and benefitted from the national cake.
Street lights were planted in Nimba, Maryland and Grand Kru, River Gee saw the modernization of its Presidential Palace, the Port of Harper was ordered to be revamped, housing units dedicated in Nimba, Grand Gedeh and Grand Kru, solar panels installed in some places where the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) has not reached, and so on.
The three counties targeted for the second phase are among the least in terms of infrastructure development.
Bomi County, formerly known as Bomi Territory, was once part of Montserrado County. The military regime of Samuel Doe established Bomi County in 1983. A legislative act later confirmed the county as being a separate entity. Bomi means “light” in the Gola tongue, and is recognized as the first site for iron ore mining in Liberia.
Grand Cape County formally became a county in 1856 after it was carved out of Montserrado by a legislative act to become the fifth county in Liberia. The name of the county comes from Cape du Mont, a French word meaning the Cape of the Mount. In 1461, Pedro de Sintra, a Portuguese explorer, charting the West Coast of Africa saw the prominent feature of the cape and chose its name. President Weah has meanwhile chose the county to reactivate government’s farming, with the first 4,500 acres.
Gbarpolu County was created in 2001 when it was split from Lofa County, and majority of the county consists of forest. Mining was the primary economic activity there prior to the Liberian civil war, in addition to subsistence farming. However, the war devastated all sectors of the county.