Saah Joseph Blasts Last well …But Pres. Weah Reacts, As Company, GoL Sign MoU

Alex Yomah & Bill W. Cooper (Cub Reporter)
Montserrado County Senator, Saah Joseph, has blasted the management of LAST WELL, a non for profit organization providing Safe Drinking Water in Liberia.
Senator Joseph asserted that the LAST WELL has spent 10 years in Liberia and is expected to conclude by 2020 yet not much is done to exhaust the US$31 million project.
Sen. Joseph told the management of LAST WELL that this government is a Pro-poor government and as such, gone are days that Non-governmental organization would sign a Memorandum of Understanding that worth millions of dollars and yet Liberians are not feeling its impact.
“As senator, I heard good news and bad news about LAST WELL. The people of Montserrado County need safe drinking water,” he demanded.
The Montserrado County senator said since 2009 with the presence of LAST WELL whose objective is to erect wells in rural communities and counties, , there are still communities in Montserrado where people still walk miles to fetch safe drinking water.
“This LAST WELL organization been here 10 years, it is unbelievable that residents of Montserrado still do not have drinking water,” he said.
Senator Joseph described as unacceptable that the LAST WELL erected 400 wells in Nimba County and constructed only 108 wells in Montserrado County which is the largest county with a huge population.
According to him, Liberia does not need any institution that will fail in its deliverables and make the CDC-led government to lose its integrity pointing out that there is no way LAST WELL should construct wells without attaching latrines.
He admonished the organization to also build latrines alongside the wells adding, “If you say clean and safe drinking water, you need to attach toilet because if you don’t add latrine, if it rains, there is a possibility that the wells will get polluted.”
Though the construction of latrines is not in the project being implemented, President George Weah has urged Liberians to be patient and supportive to partners and appreciate LAST WELL for the job done so far in Liberia.
The Liberian leader assured that his government will work with any organization especially LAST WELL, which according to the President is aimed at extending safe drinking water to every part of the country.
“I hope LAST WELL will always be here to help our people. It is also my hope that LAST WELL reaches its full potential,” President Weah said.
Meanwhile, the government of Liberia through the NWASHC and the LAST WELL, a nonprofit organization signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the construction and rehabilitation of wells and the distribution of water filters to households in 712 communities in Montserrado County.
The MoU which take place at the City of Bentol in Montserrado County brought together huge array of government officials including President George M. Weah, as well as Montserrado county District #1 Representative, Lawrence Morris and Senator Saah Joseph of Montserrado County.
During the signing ceremony, the president and founder of Last Well, Doc. Todd Phillips noted that his organization has carried out field assessment in all communities in Montserrado, adding that their aim is to address the water challenges faced by the residents of Montserrado, especially those who reside in the rural areas.
According to Todd, the Montserrado County project is expected to serve a total target population of 170,500 through the construction of a total of 108 new wells and the rehabilitation of a total of 69 wells as well as the distribution of 8,117 water filters to households in 712 communities in the county.
He added that his team is on a historic mission through the use of the United Nation (UN) sustainable development goals as their guidelines to provide a basic clean water access to every Liberians and the offer of a Christian message to every community they served by December 2020.
Todd then lauded the government of President Weah and his leadership for his oversight as well as the Representative of Montserrado County District #1 and Senator Saah Joseph for providing his delegation the opportunity of bringing life to the people of Liberia through water and the Gospel.
Signing on behalf of the government, NWASHC Chairperson and CEO, Bobby Whitfield lauded the Last Well team for the project and promised government’s full support to them in providing safe drinking water to the residents, adding that project is in line with the government’s Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD) in providing safe drinking water for all.