In Bong County: Community Links Liberia To Guinea

By Patrick Stephen Tokpah
/BONG
Residents of Gbaowuta Town in Panta District 4, Bong County, and Dianenia Town in Guinea have constructed a wooden bridge over the Siaya River without government’s intervention.
In February of this year, residents of Gbaowuta and Dianenia appealed to the Governments of Liberia and Guinea to jointly construct the bridge that links the two countries.
The bridge serves as a major trade route for many Liberians traveling to Guinea, particularly through the town of Dianenia in Guinea.
For the past years, the poor condition of the bridge has led to severe challenges for those who rely on the route for their commercial activities.
However, the residents revealed that the road from Gbaowuta to Dianenia is the shortest and most convenient way to reach Guinea.
Many people use this route for cross-border trades between Guinea and Liberia, which is vital for their daily lives and businesses.
But, due to the flooding of the Siaya River, transportation of goods becomes increasingly difficult for the residents along the fringes of the river.
Speaking to the INQUIRER, the residents disclosed that the construction of the bridge had brought relief to them.
However, citizens of both Liberia and Guinea have expressed their gratitude to a son of Gbaowuta based in the US, Harrison Kpartipa, for his assistance toward the completion of the bridge.
“Vehicles and motorbikes can now safely travel this route; our people will not be taking loads on their heads,” the citizens added.
They believe that addressing this long-standing issue will now improve their daily lives and will also strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
The citizens said they have been calling on both governments to construct the bridge for the past years but to no avail, adding, “We ourselves decided to generate the funding of this bridge and our son Harrison Kpartipa buttressed our efforts with some financial assistance.
However, the citizens didn’t give the estimated cost of the bridge on grounds that they were not interested in it.
“We are happy that cars and bikes will access this route,” they added.
They made the statement over the weekend in an interview with journalists at the completion ceremony of the bridge.