In an effort to ensure that its presence is felt in all fifteen counties, the Liberian government through the Ministry of Transport (MOT), has embarked on an initiative aimed at Decentralizing Transport Services and Revenue Enhancement across the country. Accordingly, with support from the government, the Ministry of Transport is glade to announce its full readiness aimed at undertaking registration and inspection processes in all fifteen counties. Making the disclosure over the weekend in Monrovia, Transport Minister, Sirleaf Tyler noted that they have done a great job as it relates to inspections in Monrovia as said effort is benefiting the public, pointing out that Monrovia is not Liberia as such; the opportunity to bring other parts of Liberia onboard is something that excites them. He indicated that in order for government to provide better services to its citizens, employees at the Ministry have been doing their best in contributing to the national budget, as the expansion of their services will enhance revenue generation. According to him, their goal is to cover all of the fifteen counties by the end of October this year, stating that lessons learn from the exercise will help them establish permanent presence in those counties by next year. “We consider this initiative to be quite important for this sector and the wellbeing of the Liberian people. This initiative which we are about to rolled out is the Decentralization of Transport Services and Revenue Enhancement. Our teams have been working in Nimba and Margibi Counties for two weeks now and are moving to Bong and Grand Bassa Counties over the weekend. Other teams will depart early next week for Southeastern Liberia,” he said. Accordingly, the Decentralization of their services will help to bring the Transport Ministry closer to the people and make things much easier, as they are going to open offices in those counties from where Liberians and foreign nationals can go and register their vehicles, motorcycles, tricycles and other transport equipment. “For us, we believe it is important to remain engaged with the media, to ensure that the Liberian people know what we are doing to deliver quality services to them,” he said. He said in that way, Liberians and other residents alike will be able to apply and obtain drivers’ licenses right in their counties. The Minister is at the same time mandating all of the insurance companies to move their operations in the counties so as to enable them provide better services across the country. “We know that decentralization is valuable, but it will take time to get there. For now, we are beginning the journey and will continue to work hard to achieve the objectives,” he said. The MOT head said under the first phase, they will assess the conditions on the ground by conducting survey to understand the demand for their services in each of those counties, before carry out inspection and mobile registration. “But in all that we do at the Ministry, public safety remains our primary goal. Therefore, we highly commend the government for supporting the nationwide inspection, to ensure that only vehicles, motorcycles, and tricycles that are licensed and insured will drive on our roads. We ask for the support of all stakeholders, including local government officials, transport unions, civil society organizations and the citizenry,” he said. Macpherson C. Marbiah writes/0886442882-0777250370