Former Nimba County District #4 Representative and Counselor-at-Law Garrison Yealue has launched a scathing criticism of the Unity Party-led government, accusing the administration of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai of failing to undertake significant development projects in Nimba County since assuming power.
Cllr. Yealue, a former lawmaker who represented District #4, said that nearly four years into the administration, the government has little tangible development to show for its tenure in Nimba, arguing that most visible projects across the county are being financed through the County Development Fund rather than direct appropriations from the national budget.
According to him, the only projects the Unity Party-led government could point to as major national government interventions in Nimba are the vocational school being constructed in Tappita and the Magisterial Court constructed in the same area, along with the recently established Labour Court.
“Can anyone show me any project undertaken by the government? Never,” Yealue said rhetorically.
“What you are seeing in this county was done with Nimba people’s money—not appropriated from the national budget as it was done in the case of the Vocational School or the Magisterial Court in Tappita,” he added.
Yealue claimed that approximately 98 percent of the funding for many ongoing development activities in Nimba comes from the US$1.5 million Social Development Fund provided through the ArcelorMittal Liberia concession, with the balance coming from the annual US$200,000 County Development Fund allocation from the central government.
He accused the local administration of using county-funded projects for public relations purposes, creating the impression that the national government is implementing major development initiatives in Nimba.
The former representative particularly criticized Nimba County Superintendent Kou Meapeh Gono, alleging that the county administration has been using local resources to demonstrate government performance.
He warned that such an approach could become problematic when the use of county resources is subjected to audit.
Yealue’s criticism comes amid a broader debate over the management and utilization of Nimba’s development funds.
Last year, Senator Samuel Kogar similarly criticized the county leadership for using County Development Funds to implement projects he argued should be financed through the national budget.
Superintendent Gono responded at the time by saying that the era of distributing “Nimba money” among lawmakers was over and that county resources would instead be used for the benefit of ordinary citizens.
However, Yealue has now raised fresh concerns over the reported US$10,000 allocation to individual lawmakers, which the superintendent has defended as “community engagement funds” intended to enable legislators to effectively carry out oversight activities in their respective districts.
Yealue rejected the justification, arguing that lawmakers should not receive direct allocations from county development resources.
“As lawmakers, such money was never given to any lawmaker of Nimba from the County Development Funds,” he said.
He further argued that if money is allocated for sporting activities or district leagues, such funds should be transferred directly to the appropriate district structures rather than lawmakers.
“If the Council allot money for sporting and for the district league, it should be given to the district steering committee, not lawmakers,” Yealue stated.
His criticism also highlighted what he described as a sharp contrast between the development records of previous administrations and the current government.
Under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s administration, the government constructed the Jackson F. Doe Hospital in Tappita, reconstructed portions of the Monrovia-Ganta-Border Road, established Nimba Community College, constructed the Judicial Complex in Sanniquellie and developed the Ganta Central Market, which was later completed under the Coalition for Democratic Change administration.
The CDC administration, Yealue noted, continued major road infrastructure projects in the county, including the Sanniquellie-Loguatuo Road, Ganta-Saclepea Road and Saclepea-Tappita Road.
The CDC also completed the Ganta-Sanniquellie Road, following years of complaints over the condition of the road during the Sirleaf administration.
While some of those projects were left incomplete by the respective administrations, Yealue argued that they demonstrated a greater commitment to major infrastructure development than what he has seen under the current government.
He acknowledged that the Boakai administration has recently undertaken some projects, including the Tappita Vocational School, Magisterial Courts and Labour Court, but maintained that these interventions came late in the administration’s tenure.
Meanwhile, several rehabilitation and construction projects currently underway in Nimba are reportedly being financed through the county’s development resources, particularly the AML Social Development Fund and the annual central-government County Development Fund.
Yealue’s allegations, however, have not received a response from the Nimba County local administration as of press time.
Another concern emerging from the debate is the lack of clear public information on many ongoing projects. Several construction and rehabilitation sites reportedly do not have project billboards indicating the contractor, project cost, funding source or implementation details.
The absence of such information, critics say, makes it difficult for citizens to determine who is financing projects, how much is being spent and which institutions are responsible for implementation.
Yealue’s latest criticism has therefore reopened questions about whether Nimba’s development priorities are being adequately supported through the national budget and whether county resources are being used transparently to address the county’s most pressing needs.
