By Emmanuel Mafelah, mafelahemmanuel29@gmail.com
GBARNGA, Liberia- Bong County Electoral Districts #3 Representative Josiah Marvin Cole has come under serious tensions as for referring to citizens of his district as “Goats and Lazy People” as they demand an apologizes.
Some months ago, Representative Cole was heard in an audio recording labeling some citizens of Wainsue as goats.
But several aggrieved youths and citizens of the area have sharply reacted to the lawmaker assertion turning it as disappointing and frustrating on the part of the lawmaker, someone they said made him to be where he is today.
The also provided several accounts of funds believed to have been embezzled by the Lawmaker.
The aggrieved citizens told Journalists in a press conference recently in the county that Hon. Cole called them goats as an upshot of their advocacies regarding a standstill town hall project that was initiated by him since 2019.
“As responsible and respectful citizens, we deemed it necessary not to follow the same abusive route that Mr. Cole took but to come up with several counts that we want he to adhere to in one week,” Fumba Keita, the chairperson of the aggrieved youths told Journalists.
In their counts, Mr. Keita said they (aggrieved) want Honorable Cole to retract his abusive expression against the youths and citizens of the clan and the District.
The youth want Hon. Cole to explain reasons leading to the standstill of the Wainsue town hall project even though they have documents that prove that little over four thousand five hundred United States Dollars intended for the completion of the project were allegedly embezzled by him.
“We also want him to give us an account of the $4900 USD that was allotted from the fifty thousand that was given by DECCO Oil and Gas limited for the completion of the Wainsue Town Hall,” the Chairman said.
The aggrieved citizens expressed serious bitterness in Representative Cole to have described them as goats and even described his statement as complete disrespect to the peaceful citizens of Wainsue.
“Why will Hon. Cole calls our people goats? Who does he think he is? Has he forgotten that he is a stranger or is it because our people helped him with that job? Jonah Kongoi a former Bong County Football Player and a resident of Jorpolu clan asked.
He said the statement made by Hon. Cole if not retracted will lead to a serious political disaster in whatever election he contests.
“For me, my concern is mainly based on the standstill of our town hall project and the statement made by Hon. Cole that we the people of Wainsue are goats and criminals. George N. Flomo one of the citizens said.
“It is very much frustrating that a whole Lawmaker will not face the reality to defend himself when issue ascends at a peak of discussion but instead be insulting his Employers” He adds.
“It is true that he insulted the People of Wainsue because we all heard the audio recording on Super Bongese but it this stage, we are not going to do the same thing he did so we are therefore calling on him to retract that statement and apologize”. Mr. Flomo concludes.
Commenting on the standstill of the town project another aggrieved citizen Amos G. Wamah said Representative Cole broke grounds for the project in 2017 and promised that he would celebrate his birthday in it in December of the same year. But since then, he (Rep. Cole) is said to have sent fifty bags of cement for molding of blocks they are yet to see him.
“We were here suffering molding the blocks for the town-hall. Let’s fair that it is our own project so we did not expect anything from him as pay but he should not be spreading falsehoods that we are criminals. If he feels that someone stole something from him, let he take the person to court instead of practicing baby cry and insulting our parents,” said Mr. Wamah.
Our investigative Bong County Correspondent said some forty thousand United States Dollars were given to Representative Cole in last year by DEECO Oil and Gas Limited as payment of social contribution following an assessment of the discovery of oil in the central city of Gbarnga.
Since the end of the assessment, Representative Cole has not told the public that there is oil at the Jor-river banks in Gbarnga even though he sang that as a morning devotional song that there were oils in the city.
Our Correspondent also said that there was a resolution signed by majority members of the Bong County Legislative Caucus about the usage of the fifty thousand United States Dollars in Jorquelleh District #3 a resolution that is said to have allegedly been downplayed by Rep. Cole.
A copy of the resolution in possession of this paper mandated that four thousand nine hundred USD be used from the fifty thousand to complete the Wainsue Town hall construction. But since the signing of the resolution on August 19, 2019, at the Capitol Hill in Monrovia, the project still maintains its 2017 status.
A copy of a letter in possession of this Reporter from Internal Affairs Minister Varney Sirleaf mandates the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) to make a payment of the four thousand nine hundred United States Dollars to the Bong Shopping Center as contractors of the Wainsue Town Hall Completion.
But the citizens are alleging that they have documents to the effect were Hon. Cole instructed the Bong Shopping Center to give the money to him and was given.
When contacted to respond to the allegations leveled against him, the Bong County District #3 Representative refused to make a comment.