Tensions have erupted in Bong County Electoral District #3 as residents of Kpayah Town accused local authorities and their lawmaker.
Some residents claimed that authorities have sidelined the community and distorted development realities after a newly dedicated clinic in Jennipleta was “controversially named Kpayah Clinic.”
The decision has triggered widespread anger to the extent that residents described it as both “misleading and disrespectful,” especially since the facility is not located in Kpayah Town as the name suggests.
At the commissioning ceremony, Kpayah Town Chief, Peter P. Mengarpuan, expressed dissatisfaction of how the community feels deliberately excluded from a project they were originally promised.
He said, Representative J. Marvin Cole had, assured residents that the clinic would be constructed in Kpayah Town.
However, the project was later relocated to Jennipleta while retaining Kpayah’s name; a move the chief says, has created confusion and frustration.
The situation is not just about relocation, but about the long-term consequences it may have on development planning.
Mengarpuan, warned that government agencies and development partners may now wrongly conclude that Kpayah already has a functioning clinic, thereby reducing its chances of receiving future health investments.
“This is not what we were told. It creates a false picture of development in our town while our people continue to suffer without basic healthcare.”
Chief Mengarpuan further disclosed that residents had formally raised concerns with the office of Rep. Cole, requesting a correction to reflect the true location of the facility.
He said, those concerns were ignored, deepening distrust between the community and their elected leadership.
In response, Rep. Cole defended the decision, stating that the Jennipleta location was chosen based on technical recommendations from the County Health Team, which identified it as a more strategic site for serving surrounding populations.
Despite this explanation, many residents insist the issue remains unresolved, arguing that technical justification does not address “misleading representation” of Kpayah in the development map.
Bong County Health Officer, Dr. Daanue Saye Zwuogbae, has meanwhile, announced plans to send an assessment team to Kpayah Town to evaluate the possibility of establishing a future clinic there, depending on population and geographic requirements.
The County Superintendent, Loleyah Hawa Norris, has called for urgent inclusion of Kpayah in future health planning.
Norris said equitable access to healthcare must remain a priority as debates over the clinic naming controversy continue to intensify.