GBARNGA, Bong – Bong’s superintendent, Esther Walker, has underscored holistic reconciliation among leaders and citizens of the county as a means of fostering development.

Walker was confirmed last week by the Senate following her recent appointment by President George Weah. She is Bong’s third successive female superintendent, after Lucia Herbert and Selena Polson Mappy.

Walker said after her induction that she would begin engaging all stakeholders, including legislators, local leaders, civil society actors, and ordinary citizens to ensure the county is united.

“Right after I take office, I am writing to everybody to come home. People living outside of the county, once you are an eminent citizen of this county, you have to come home,” Walker said.

She wants citizens of the county to use dialogue as a channel to settle disputes and forge reconciliation to enhance peace and development.

“We are traditional people, but because we have missed the target, we don’t want to go back to our traditional way of settling our disputes. People get on radio to insult others,” Walker told a local radio station in Gbarnga.

With regards to development projects, Walker said her first dream is to complete the prolonged construction of the Bong County Technical College.

“The Bong County Technical College is my heartbeat. After this project, the Gbarnga road project and electricity will be our next priority projects,” Walker said.

Commenting on the selection of delegates to attend county council sittings, Walker has vowed to work with the Bong County Legislative Caucus and local leaders to ensure that delegates are elected at district level to represent their different districts.

The county council sitting is the highest decision-making platform that determines how County Social Development Funds should be allotted for development, according to Liberia’s Budget Law.

Walker’s plan for Bong under the CDC-led government is not so different from those of other former superintendents during the Unity Party government; however, the effective implementation of her vision is what many in the county would want to see.

Even though none succeeded fully, former superintendents Ranney Jackson, Lucia Herbert, and Selena Polson Mappy had all expressed hope of uniting leaders and citizens of the county to complete the Bong County Technical College, pave streets, and restore electricity to Gbarnga. Infighting and bickering among the county’s lawmakers and other leaders have stalled progress in many areas over the years.

Featured photo by Moses Bailey