In the hullaballoo surrounding the Bong County earth moving equipment Electoral District #3 Representative Josiah Marvin Cole says he is not responsible for the current condition of the County machine that is currently packed in his village.
The machine was taken to Hon. Cole’s home during the burial of his father in order to pave the road leading to the town.
But on the contrary, Hon Josiah Marvin Cole has stated that he is not responsible for the machine on grounds that it was willingly taken in his home by the County authority.
It can be recalled that a few months back, Representative Josiah Marvin Cole requested for the machine to rehabilitate his home-road for the interment of his late father, but he has allegedly refused to return the machine as a result of being broken-down.
The CDC lawmaker noted that the machine got damaged after it has worked on his farm and said he can’t be held responsible to repair the nonfunctional machine.
But contrary to the district #3 lawmaker elucidation about the machine, Bong County Assistant Superintendent for Development Anthony Boakai Sheriff said Representative Josiah Marvin Cole is in error by saying that the machine was willingly taken in his home by the county authority.
According to Mr. Sheriff there was negotiation with his office and the lawmaker one evening the lawmaker was the one that took the machine to his hometown and not willingly by the County authority as stated earlier by the lawmaker.
Mr. Sheriff clarifies that Hon. Cole only gave 20 united state dollars plus two thousand Liberian dollars and not 300 USD as been speculated by Rep. Cole and some of his followers.
Some citizens of the county under the banner ‘Bring Back our Machine’ are calling on the lawmaker and the county leadership to settle the machine issue and stop contradicting themselves.
The citizens want Hon. Cole to be fair to the Bongese by providing the actual information about how the machine went on his farm.
Also speaking to this paper the Chief Operator of the Bong County Yellow Machines Bennie Kpuayee debunked Representative Josiah Marvin Cole’s statement that he (Cole) gave about three hundred United States Dollars to him (Kpuayee) to repair the machine.
Mr. Kpuayee attributed the machine abandonment to Representative Cole alleged failure to repair the earth moving equipment.
He, at the same, time said at no point in time he receives a cent from the Bong County Lawmaker or even giving money to any mechanic for the repair of the machine.
In 2012, the leadership of the county budgeted US$662,300 from the County Social Development Funds (SDF) to procure a front-end loader, a motor grader, and a dump truck to rehabilitate existing roads and open new ones.
The vendor, whose name has not been disclosed, was reportedly paid an upfront amount of US$634,300 for the front-end loader and the motor grader, with a balance of US$28,000 to complete payment for the dump truck if the first set of equipment arrived.
But it has been established that the county is yet to pay the vendor his balance to take delivery of the truck.
The two earth moving machines that were paid for are yet to make an impact in Gbarnga evidence by the road situation in the city.
