Monrovia – If the Liberian government succeeds in ensuring that the coastal defense project to save D-Tweh High School in New Kru Town is properly completed, the school stands another 50-year guarantee, according to engineers.
Over the weekend, President George Manneh Weah formally launched the commencement of the project which could see the school withstands the eroding pressure from the Atlantic Ocean.
Speaking during the official launch of the coastal defense project Friday, July 13, in the Borough of New Kru Town, the President said the project as just one of the many projects to come.
He promised that his government will remain focus despite criticisms: “As a government, our responsibility is to perform, give to you what you need and not to give you those things that you do not need.
“I was always there with you when I was not a President. Now that I am your President, I will always be there with you and for you. I hope and pray that this project will not be sabotaged because it will be supported,” the Liberian Leader stated.
He pledged his government’s commitment to working with its international partners, especially the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in helping the people of New Kru Town to prevent the sea erosion.
D. Tweh has made and continues to make numerous contributions in impacting and building the capacity of Liberians, many of whom are making significant contributions to the Liberian society.
New Kru Town like other communities in and around Monrovia has endured and continues to endure the bitter experience of sea erosion, leaving several properties damaged and many other homeless.
UNDP and the government, on the recommendations of the Project Management Team, are urgently implementing a holistic, sustainable and an inclusive solution to the sea erosion with low-cost interventions — protection seawall, beach restoration, and community improvements i.e. drainage, waste management, and construction of docking areas for the fishing community.
To ensure government leadership, the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is responsible for the procurement of equipment, rocks, geo-fabric mats, and the services of temporal staff.
UNDP is in charge of hiring the core project staff, including an international coastal engineer; who has completed baseline surveys and recommended appropriate project designs.
In a related development, UNDP in close collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) will shortly undertake a comprehensive baseline study of the coast of Monrovia for the proposed “Monrovia Metropolitan Climate Resilience Project,” which aims to tackle critical coastal erosion sites from King Gray in Paynesville to Hotel Africa in Virginia.
The evidence so far available from the draft Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD) shows that, environment and climate change issues are an integral part of the government’s development priorities.
Credit: FPA Liberia