The opening of the Lofa county Service Center on October 7, 2018 in Voinjama was welcoming news for citizens, who thought that their burden of traveling to Monrovia just to obtain basic public documents was now over, but it is yet to be realized.
The essence of opening County Service Centers is to involve the people of Liberia in the decision-making process and to bring services such as issuance of driver’s license, marriage certificates closer to the people in their various Counties.
The UNDP, USAID and other international partners contributed huge amount of money to the establishment of the various service centers around Liberia.
It is also intended to involve the people in the decision making process with regards to good governance and decentralization, which is part of the country’s overall development drive.
But on the contrary, basic services are yet to be offered to the citizens in Lofa by the center due to the lack of fuel supply to run the generator, lack of applications or required software to produce those needed documents for the public.
Many of those visiting the county Service Center in the provincial capital, Voinjama on a daily basis are compelled to wait for a month or more, while their information are being sent to Monrovia for processing. Or in some cases, they must travel to the very Monrovia themselves to acquire those needed documents.
The disclosure was made recently during the visit of Senator George T. Tengbeh of Lofa who expressed serious concerns about the condition of the center.
According to the Lofa County Senator, it is unfortunate to have a center open but still unable to provide the requisite services to its citizens.
“You will have to keep us informed about these kinds of challenges and we as law makers can work as a team to address some of them” the Lofa law maker lamented.
It was indicated during the opening of the center that service seeker would now have access to documents such as birth certificates and marriage certificates in the county and that they would no longer have to travel to Monrovia to obtain these documents.
Reports say, the Lofa County Service Centre Coordinator, Mr. Oliver Arkoi has always remain tight lap on progress and challenges at the facility despite several efforts by the media at the county level to keep the citizens informed about the center.
The Lofa County Service Centre was renovated through UNMIL Quick Impact Project (QIP).
The renovated Service Centre was also supported by government of Liberia. This was an expression of government’s commitment in support to the people of Lofa County.
The entire Service Centre staff was recruited locally, most of whom were already working with various government Ministries, agencies and commissions in Lofa County. Training is scheduled for them to ensure quality service delivery to the people.
For too long, the adage “Liberia is not Monrovia alone” has been the opposite of the reality on the ground in all aspects of life. In other words, people across the country have to come to the capital, Monrovia to get almost all public services—teachers getting their pay checks, drivers’ license/license plates, birth certificates and just name them. Report by Tokpa Tarnue