By: Nicholas D. Nimley
Unarguably, Liberia’s Southeast remains among the country’s poorest and least economically developed regions. The region’s persistent economic challenges are largely linked to inadequate road infrastructure, which has constrained economic activities and contributed to population shifts commonly described as rural-to-urban migration.
As a result, many southeasterners have left their communities in search of better opportunities in major urban centers such as Monrovia and Paynesville.
It is fair for anyone to argue that people from the Southeast should remain in their communities and contribute to their counties’ development. But we should also not forget the enduring development principle that “the road to development begins with the development of roads.” For the Southeast, this has not always been the reality, despite efforts by successive administrations to improve connectivity across the region.
Ngafuan’s trip to the Southeast was not by helicopter, ferry, or private jet—the means of transportation that many southeasterners have sometimes had to rely on, particularly during the height of the rainy season. Instead, he traveled by government vehicle, providing a firsthand indication of the progress that has been made, and continues to be made, in improving road accessibility to the region.
His mission was not a campaign trail. Rather, it provided an opportunity to feel, touch and see firsthand the impact of the government’s US$1 billion national budget in the Southeast. Indeed, ongoing road improvements are among the visible manifestations of public investment, as Liberians are no longer routinely compelled to travel through Côte d’Ivoire or endure two to three weeks of difficult overland travel to reach some counties in the Southeast, including River Gee, Grand Kru and Maryland.
The roads leading to these counties are by no means perfect, but they are increasingly passable compared with years past. Connecting every county capital remains a stated priority of the current administration.
It was not a trip centered on rhetorical speeches about what the government intends to do. Instead, it was an opportunity to observe how public resources are being used to improve the lives of Liberians in the region.
The Liberian Finance and Development Planning Minister, while enroute to Harper, Maryland County, where he was scheduled to serve as Guest Speaker at the 17th Founder’s Day Anniversary of William V.S. Tubman University on Monday, September 14, 2026, made a stop in Tappita, Nimba County, at the Jackson F. Doe Memorial Regional Referral Hospital.
At the hospital, authorities took the Minister on a guided tour of the facilities, showcasing projects and interventions being supported through the national budget. These interventions include the payment of salaries for employees and foreign doctors, as well as the provision of operational funding intended to keep the hospital functioning.
Some of the government-funded interventions at the JFD Hospital include, among others, the ongoing construction of a modern emergency ward, the purchase this year of seven vehicles including ambulances and buses for employees and the installation of a new 650 KVA backup generator.
The technical staff also drew the Minister’s attention to some of the challenges confronting the hospital, issues that the government intends to consider as it continues planning and allocating resources.
Still at JFD, the hospital administrator and staff, particularly the nurses, accorded Ngafuan and his technical team a warm welcome. The interaction provided an opportunity for the Minister and the hospital personnel to engage directly on the realities confronting the institution.
Ngafuan later thanked the Chief Administrator of the Hospital, Dr. Victor Kaizer, who was away in Monrovia attending to an urgent matter when the delegation visited, as well as the entire JFD team for their work and dedication to providing healthcare services.
Impressed by the fact that the pavement or the laying of asphalt has now reached Tappita, Ngafuan reflected on his personal connection to the area.
He said: “This achievement has a personal resonance with me for many reasons, the most prominent of which is the fact that I lived and worked in Tappita for nearly three months in 2000 as a member of the team of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) tasked to exchange the old ‘JJ Roberts’ and ‘Liberty’ banknotes with a new family of banknotes. During those days, it was a real nightmare traveling for very long hours on the extremely terrible road from Ganta to Tappita.”
He extended special thanks to the Ministry of Public Works, contractors and development partners for the progress made so far, while underscoring the broader ambition of eventually paving the entire stretch of road from Nimba through Grand Gedeh and into River Gee. The road from Fish Town, the capital of River Gee County, was paved during the administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
From Zwedru, the trip continued toward Harper, with stops along the way. In Fish Town, the delegation heard from public school teachers and young people who were being placed on the government payroll and benefiting from the Ministry of Youth and Sports’ National Cadet Program in 2026.
Then came Barclayville City in Grand Kru County, one of the least-developed county’s capitals in the country.
Driving from Pleebo to Barclayville, the entire stretch remains gravel, with no concrete or asphalt pavement despite the county having produced a president, a deputy speaker of the House of Representatives and a president pro tempore of the Liberian Senate over the years.
In Barclayville, it emerged that the government had added more than 200 traditional chiefs in Grand Kru County to the government payroll. Young people in the county also welcomed the National Cadet Program, which is providing opportunities for several young people.
Then, in Harper, Maryland County, approximately 90 traditional chiefs were reportedly added to the government payroll, with the financing coming from the same national budget.
Moreover, government revenue is financing key investments in the education sector, including the construction of Arts and Sciences and Engineering buildings at Tubman University in Maryland County, a classroom complex at Grand Gedeh University, and the Grand Kru County Technical College.
Now that preparation of the next national budget is underway, identifying priorities and ensuring that resources are allocated to sectors and programs that can deliver tangible benefits to Liberians is particularly important.
Against this backdrop, Ngafuan’s decision to use his trip to the Southeast initially undertaken to participate in the Tubman University Founder’s Day program as an opportunity to observe firsthand how government resources are being deployed across the region can reasonably be viewed as a fact-finding exercise.
Rather than relying solely on reports, spreadsheets and institutional briefings, the trip offered an opportunity to see the roads, visit the hospital, interact with public servants, hear from young people and observe ongoing public investments in education and other sectors.
Ultimately, the significance of such a journey lies not merely in the distance traveled, but in what was observed along the way. For a Ministry responsible for allocating and managing public resources, firsthand knowledge of conditions in the counties can help inform the difficult choices that accompany every national budget.
Ngafuan’s Southeast pilgrimage therefore went beyond attending a university anniversary. It became an opportunity to feel, touch and see the real-world impact of the national budget and, equally important, to identify the gaps that still require government attention.
About the Author: Nicholas Dweh Nimley is a Liberian writer, journalist, and university lecturer. He’s also a socio-and development economist with degrees in economic development, journalism and communication and a doctoral researcher in global communications. He can be contacted using +231776-586-433/886-582-830, or email: nimleynicholasd@gmail.com
