In River Gee County, a decade-long saga of neglect and mismanagement has left the Wahploh Memorial Institute annex is in ruined.
The unfinished school project, has remained so for decades. The abandonment of the project has sparked outrage and concerns about accountability.
The US$64,000 project, was intended to reduce overcrowding and improve learning conditions.
It was launched in 2016, but abandoned after the contractor, LIDA Liberia Limited, “mismanaged funds and vanished from the community.”
The Community Forestry Development Committee (CFDC) had awarded the contract to LIDA Liberia Limited.
LIDA Liberia is headed by Marshall David Yeanue, who reportedly received 50 percent of the funds before he disappeared.
Approximately US$30,000 was spent, leaving the project unfinished and students learning in difficult conditions.
The CFDC/FMC leadership has prepared to re-award the contract, but residents are skeptical, given the history of failed projects.
The issue extends beyond the school annex, with another health infrastructure project, the Deabo Paaken Health Center, also abandoned.
The River Gee County Debt Court intervened in 2021, ordered the enforcement of a performance bond, but progress remains slow. Community members demand stronger transparency and stricter monitoring of development projects.