By Judoemue M. Kollie
Monrovia, Liberia, March 31, 2025 – Several students couldn’t attend the GSA YMCA School in Paynesville this semester due to the illegal occupation of people whom the chairman of the community, Dave N. Fokonyulu has perceived as criminals.
Chairman Fokonyulu speaking to this reporter recently in his community said that the activities of the criminals is posing serious insecurity situation for the residents and there is a need for the government to step in.
He said that the residents are living in constant fear in certain areas of the community.
“The GSA YMCA Community School closed this year due to the presence of criminals who have illegally occupied the building. It is tough for residents to travel around 9-10 pm in the YMCA community and other areas,” he narrated.
“We want the government to come to our aid. We brought this issue to the attention of the government before, but no action was taken,” the chairman added.
He said that if nothing is done to address the situation the residents will one day take the street to protest.
On the other hand, the chairman frowned on residents who are in the habit of hosting criminals.
“I don’t understand the reason why some residents continue to host those gangsters who are pretending to be peaceful residents. They are all drug addicts and harassing people during the day and the night,” he added.
He said that his leadership has tried before to get rid of the criminals around the area but they did not succeed.
“The YMCA community area is government land that those guys have occupied unlawfully. We tried breaking down the getos, where the criminals are smoking the drugs and selling them,” he said.
Fokonyulu said that the GSA Road community is divided into 16 blocks that have come together to find an alliance in order to address the challenges facing the residents.
The chairman also mentioned that the Zina Hill junction also has a lot of criminals.
In a related development, Chairman Fokonyulu has lauded the government for the electrification of the GSA Road Community main street.
He said the lighting of the main street is a development that the residents highly welcome.
“The electrification of the community’s main street is something that impressed the residents. We are very much thankful as this is going to help reduce the criminal activities at night,” he said.
The chairman also disclosed that the government has embarked on the pavement of the road starting from the GSA Motor Pool junction to the SKD Sports Complex.
“The government has embarked on the pavement of the road starting from the GSA Motor Pool junction to the SKD Sports Complex. This is a great initiative to be undertaken by the government,” he said.
However, the Chairman said, he was not satisfied with the category of pavement that is to be carried out.
“We laud the government for the initiative. But, I think this is an important road because it leads to the Sports Complex. The engineer said they are doing gravy pavement. But I think we would appreciate asphalt pavement,” the chairman stated.
Meanwhile, Fokonyulu has outlined a number of developments undertaken by his administration since becoming the leader of the community.
He mentioned the construction of a town hall for the community as one of his major achievements.
Accordingly, the town hall will be dedicated very soon before leaving the mantle of authority.
The Chairman said that the community is expected to elect a new leadership that will steer the affairs of the community.
“Our tenure has expired and so we are working to take the community to an election. I will not be contesting the leadership any longer.
He said the leadership has set up an election body to conduct transparent elections for the community.
