A scene from Robertsport City, Grand Cape Mount County
The Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MoCI), in collaboration with the National Road Fund (NRF) has embarked on a massive Road Users Awareness Campaign in several counties across Liberia. The campaign has already reached Grand Cape Mount and Nimba Counties. Other counties to be touched are Bomi, Margibi and Grand Bassa. It comes in the wake of increasing unhealthy practices by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and transport operators along road corridors. These practices undermine the durability of roads and bridges.
The practices, affecting the sturdiness of roads across Liberia include roadside car wash operations, petty trading, and trash accumulation. Another aspect of these habits includes unauthorized use of road shoulders- a major contributing factor to traffic congestion, pedestrian safety hazards, and deterioration of road infrastructure. Besides the road-damaging factors outlined earlier, proliferation of overloaded two- and three-wheeled vehicles, common among small traders exerts pressure on road surfaces and eventually accelerate wear and tear. The joint team dispatched by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the National Road Fund has been engaging the citizens through meetings and brief programs in the various counties-craving their involvement in preserving the various raods.
The citizens are commending MoCI & NRF for their decision to embark on the Road Users Awareness Campaign. They pledged their support and vowed to report anyone or group that will be caught violating the regulations put into place by government to ensure the preservation of roads and bridges throughout Liberia. The sensitization exercise is aimed at protecting significant public investments in road and bridge infrastructure by addressing the harmful activities outlined. The National Road Fund (NRF), established on 12th December, 2016, through Legislative Enactment is intended to finance the maintenance of roads and bridges, etc. It is overseen by a five-member Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee (IMSC); including the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), Ministry of Transport (MOT), Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and Ministry of Public Works (MOPW).
