As the issue of safe drinking water has remained a nightmare for residents in the Red Hill Community in Lower Johnsonville, they are again craving the intervention of the President for the removal of the blockage to their waterline.
The people of the community who reside on a sloppy, rocky hill in District # 2, Montserrado County said that they have been finding it difficult to get pipe borne water since the pipe line that was supplying water to their community and environs was allegedly blocked, a situation which they said is adversely exacerbating hardship for them.
Speaking to this news outlet in the area, the community dwellers who are predominantly people who are below the poverty line are calling on the President to mandate the Liberia Water & Sewer Corporation (LWSC) to reopen their pipe line so that they can have access once again to water in the community.
According to them, the Compassion for Life, an American Non-Governmental Organization came to their rescue by providing funds for the project through the instrumentality of Bishop Nimely Jacbokly Donyen who lobbied on their behalf saying that they only got water supply for few months in 2017 but was diverted to another location in early 2018 for commercial purpose.
“Mr. President, for more than three years we have been prevented from enjoying the benefit of our gift because the water is on sale in the community so we want your intervention now as a means of mitigating some of the problems that we are saddled with every day,” they indicated.
Speaking further, they added that the most disgusting experience for them (Cheerful Givers High School (CGHS)’s Family), in 2018 was the flogging of their kids by intruders which resulted to most of the students as well as teachers and others sustaining injuries during a peaceful march that the school staged for their water in the communities but the situation remains unsettled.
An elderly man who resides in the community also expressed total disgust and frustration concerning as to why the donors who had paid such a huge sum of US$12,000 to LWSC, and other costs relative to labor for the digging of the holes for the pipe line which totaled over US$19,000 but the beneficiaries are not getting the just service that was paid for despite many appeals to the President.
He added that it is the government’s obligation to provide basic social services to the people but if some private entities or a humanitarian group sponsored project like water, electricity including infrastructures meant to boost its development agenda, then as such, government ought to protect the project and appreciate the sponsors.
It can be recalled that since people believed to be officials of government allegedly hindered the supply of water to the Red Hill Community, Bishop Nimely Jacbokly Donyen, Bishop Independent Catholic Church of Liberia (ICCL) has made several appeals to the President and some high ranking officials of government for their intervention through written communications but they have yet to respond.
He then recently renewed his appeal to the President in the edifice of the ICCL during a rice distribution to several communities in the Township of Johnsonville believing that God will appeal to his religious conscience to allow his people get their water to quench their thirst with delight.
Even though the water project has not achieved its targeted goal but the donors continue to support efforts that are geared toward the empowerment of market women through micro loan, provision of preventative Coronavirus materials and food to several communities in the district.
The Bishop has on many occasions informed the gatherings that their partnership has plan to bring electricity and set up computer laboratory at the CGHS’s Campus and also extend the waterline to other communities.
Political pundits believe that the President is deliberately being mute on the issue because he is allegedly protecting the District # 2 Seat over addressing the plight of his people adding that huge sum of money is also being accumulated from the sale of the water.