–Grass Engulfs the Unfinished Structure
By Rancy Clarke, Bong County Correspondent
An unfinished school project initiated by former President George Weah in Malonkai Town in District#1, Bong County, lies in ruins as the structure is said to be engulfed by grass.
The former government embarked on the construction of the school in 2018, following an appeal from citizens of the town for an educational facility. It appears the Weah administration lost the political will to complete what they started.
The contractors hired for the job abandoned the project and fled the town several months after they erected the structure almost at window level.
Speaking in an interview with our Correspondent, an elder of Malonkai Town, James Sulonteh said he instructed some youths to assist the contractors but wondered why they halted construction works on the school without their consent.
Sulonteh lamented that following their departure, no government official went to the town to assess the facility.
The unfinished school is standing in grown grass and there has been no sign of completion.
Since the town was established, there has been no school constructed there.
Schoolchildren in the settlement cover far distances to other towns just to acquire an education.
Some parents began withdrawing their children from schools outside of the town safety reason.
The town is currently using an unfinished building as an elementary school.
Due to limited seating capacity, the school is catering to about 170 students, which is half the population of schoolchildren in the town.
The administration of the school closes enrollment upon achieving this number, depriving other children from acquiring education.
Some girls who were deprived of enrollment became pregnant while boys who were unfortunate to begin school have turned to drugs.
However, James Sulonteh is appealing to President Joseph Boakai to complete the school.
“Government is continuity, so we are calling on Pres. Boakai to finish the school project”, he notes.
