The Ministry of Public Works has begun reactivating approximately 150 Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) to resume routine road maintenance activities across seven counties.
Christopher N. Blamonh, Director of Rural Roads at the Ministry, told the Daily Observer in Ganta recently that the Ministry had launched a process to revive CBOs that had become inactive, so they can resume responsibility for maintaining road corridors in their communities.
“These CBOs were active between 2019 and 2022, but from 2023 to 2025, many of them became dormant,” Blamonh explained. “We are now conducting refresher training to empower them to manage the routine maintenance of their own roads.”
He noted that the CBOs had previously been trained in communities where feeder roads were rehabilitated and that the current initiative is aimed at reinforcing their capacity. In Nimba County alone, he said, there are about 11 CBOs that will be tasked with maintaining already rehabilitated roads.
Blamonh added that the Ministry is working on logistical support to extend maintenance to road corridors that are yet to be rehabilitated. The project is funded by the National Road Fund, which is providing tools and covering the compensation of maintenance workers for a two-month period. However, he did not disclose the exact amount allocated by the Road Fund for the project.
One of the recent training sessions held in Nimba County was marked by strong community participation, suggesting that many of the CBO members had previously undergone similar training.
Jefferson Wongbay, a member of the Zlankwapea Development Association in Toweh Town, said his organization is responsible for maintaining a 19-kilometer stretch of road from Graie to Toweh Town.
“Our organization has been involved in routine maintenance work since 2019,” said Martin Sangar of Zor Koluokeh, another local CBO. “But in 2023 the project came to a halt. We are happy to be reconnected again.” Sangar’s group is responsible for maintaining a 26.5-kilometer stretch from Zorgowee to Dulay.
Nimba County continues to face serious challenges with its feeder road network. The road from New Yorpea through the gold mining town of Gblarlay, extending beyond Teahplay, Zehlay, and up to Buutuo, has remained in a collapsed state since the civil war and has yet to be rehabilitated.
That route is considered strategic due to its proximity to the Ivorian border. It was once used for security patrols and the transport of locally produced agricultural goods.