On Thursday October 26, 2023, Mr. George Lobo, a top-ranking supporter of Amb. Joseph N. Boakai appeared on Okay FM Morning Rush and made a claim about the River Gee to Harper, Maryland County Road project.
Lobo’s claim prompted Deputy Minister for Press and Public Affairs at the Ministry of Information Jarlawah A. Tonpo to phone-in and made a counter claim. At around 1:35:10 time stamp of the nearly 3-hour video of the radio interview, Mr. Tonpo claimed that the road from Fish Town to Kanweakan in River Gee County is being paved under the administration of President George Weah.
Minister Tonpo exact words were: “You said George Weah has done nothing in the Southeast, but in River Gee right now as we speak from Fish Town to Gbeapo Kanweakan, you have a paved road that is being done under this government”.
Claim #1: Did the CDC Government Pave the Road from Fish Town to Gbeapo Kanweankan?
Verdict: Correct
Jarlawa Tonpo on River Gee Road Pavement
Rating Justification
To fact check this claim, we review several credible news reports on the construction of this road. We found a report by the Liberia News Agency published on February 14, 2023. The report states that “20-kilometer road pavement is being done under the Mano River Union Road Development and Transport Facilitation Program (MRU/RDTFP) Phase II Lot l” of the project funded by the African Development Bank.
We also found a February 18, 2022 news release issued by the African Development Bank (AfDB) which states that the Bank had approved US$12.13 million to fund additional works under the bank-sponsored Fish Town to Harper Road Project.
The release adds that the US$12.13 million came from savings made for the implementation of the first phase of the project which was approved in 2013. It furthers that the Bank is funding the rehabilitation works of 160km of roads along the 510km of the corridor from Ganta, Nimba County to Harper in Maryland County.
Our mobile fact checker in River Gee County further verified that the Fish-Town to Gbeapo Kanweaken road, is a commercial city in central River Gee County, has been paved. Our Mobile Fact Checker also varified that it is not the Kilepo Kanweaken to Fish-Town road that has been paved.
River Gee County has Two Kanweaken. The first Kanweaken is located in the northern part of the County, entrance to this place can be made from Grand Gedeh County and is the first biggest town with a population of over 2000 inhabitants. The second Kanweaken is Gbeapo Kanweaken — it’s a commercial city of River Gee located in the central part of the county about 20km away from the county capitol Fish Town. It is this road that has been paved and not the Kilepo Kanweaken.
Conclusion
Based on this, we conclude that Minister Tonpo is correct. The CDC administration has received funding from the AfDB to implement the second phase of the road project, and has paved the road from Fish Town -to-Gbeapo Kanweaken.
Claim #2: Was the River Gee Road Contract Signed by the Unity Party Administration?
Verdict: INCORRECT
In the radio interview, Mr. Lobo responded to Minister Tonpo but counter-claimed that the Unity Party is credited for signing the agreement.
Lobo exact words were: “Phase two of the road from Fish Town to River Gee was to begin right after the road from Fish Town to Harper was completed. The Unity Party [acquired] US$108 million, it has absolutely nothing to do with the CDC government.”
Rating Justification
To fact check this claim, we first checked the website of the Ministry of Public Works and found a May 25, 2022 Press Release stating Request for Expression Interest (Consultancy Services). The document states that the Government of Liberia received funding from the African Development Bank Group, The European Union, and the European Investment Group towards the cost of Fishtown to Harper Road Project Phase one Harper to Karloken 50km, Fishtown to Karloken 80km.
We then found an African Development Bank Project Summary Report of the Fish Town to Harper Road Project Phase one paving Harper to Kaloken. The project summary report shows that the agreement for the construction of the road was signed on September 5, 2013 and the completion date of the project is June 5, 2025.
The report also shows that funding for the project is being provided by the Transitional Support Facility, Nigerian Trust Fund, and the African Development Fund.
As of the time of publication of this report, the project summary report shows that it was last updated on October 25, 2023.
This means that the agreement to fund these roads were signed on September 5, 2013.
Conclusion
Based on these facts, we therefore conclude that funding for the pavement of Fish Town to Kelipo Kanweakan road is from a road project was signed in 2013 during the administration of the Unity Party with the African Development Bank to increase regional integration and international traffic in ECOWAS and the Mano River Union region. We conclude that Mr. Lobo is Mostly Correct.
Editor’s Note: This report has been corrected following another careful review of the claim made by Minister Tonpo and additional verification. It was updated based on our correct process policy.
This report was developed with the support of Internews through the USAID Media Activity project. The funder has no say in the editorial decision leading to the production of this content.