PHOTO: School building now under lock and key, as owners’ patience runs out
By King Brown, sarwahking@gmail.com
BUCHANAN, Liberia- More than four hundred Liberian students pursuing primary education at the William VS Tubman High School in the port city Buchanan have been thrown out of school, due to the CDC government’s reported failure to pay rent for the property being occupied.
The government is said to owe the property owner lease summing up to US$22-thousand, Mr. Samuel Payne said on behalf of the property owner. The Finance Ministry recently boasted that the government has recorded a revenue surplus of over US$71 million in the just-ended national fiscal budget year.
The Payne family took the decision to lock their private facilities on September 11, 2021, after several engagements with the Liberian government, education stakeholders and Lawmakers of Grand Bassa County to settle the five-year arrears the public institution owes for use of the buildings but to no avail.
Speaking to www.newspublictruct.com in Buchanan over the weekend, Mr. Payne, Head of the family, said they gave the government of Liberia about 60 days ultimatum from July to August 31, 2021 to clearl the five years debt. But the ultimatum has ended and the Education Ministry has made no effort to make settlement of the arrears.
According to him, the alleged refusal of the government through the Ministry of Education to settle its five years rent prompted their actions to move in and place locks, chains and iron poles to the entrances of the buildings.
Thus, this is leaving hundreds of struggling Liberian students who don’t have the financial ability to attend private schools in the county to sit at home.
The aggrieved family through their head, Mr. Samuel Payne mentioned that the Liberian government started using the building since 1944 for school purposes. And up to now, there has been no effort made to build its own building, a situation which has caused serious embarrassment for the school administration and students.
Grand Bassa County Education Officer, Nathaniel Cisco admitted that the government of Liberia owes Mr. Payne the amount of 22- Thousand United States dollars for the period of five years, from 2017 to present according to the agreement signed.
According to Mr. Cisco, the situation has troubled him and even caused him to send out several communications to his bosses at the Ministry of Education, including the County Authority and the Caucus to intervene, to help solve the problem but to no avail.
Mr. Cisco said that the government has to do something quickly about the rent payment so that the students’ learning process won’t be interrupted by closure.
He said that the Williams VS Tubman School also called Vette runs too sections, morning and afternoon, has over 4- hundred students pursuing primary education.
In the wake of the latest troubling situation, the County Education Officer is calling on the GSA, Deputy Minister for Instructions at the Ministry of Education, the County Authority and the Grand Bassa Legislative Caucus to quickly solve the problem for the betterment and future of the younger generation.
Other school facilities that the Liberia government is also renting/leasing in Grand Bassa County are the Lower Harlandsville public School and the Demonstration School.