Voinjama, Lofa – It was a welcoming news by many, especially citizens and residents of Lofa, when the Lofa County Service Center located in Voinjama City, was on October 7, 2017, opened to the public.
Jubilant citizens and residents of the county relished an air of relief, with many expressing the belief that gone were the days that they were burdened to travel the long and deplorable road from Lofa to Monrovia in pursuit of obtaining basic and essential documents.
But just a few months since the inauguration of the Lofa County Service Center, that is far from being the case, as administrators of the Center stagger in inefficiency and poor service delivery, to the disappointment of thousands of people in that part of the country.
The essence of having a county Service Center among others hinges on good governance and the decentralization of the governance process, as far as getting the locals involved in the country’s decision-making process by bringing government-related services closer to the people in their various localities are concerned.
On the contrary, PUNCH has reliably gathered that basic services are yet to be offered citizens in Lofa by the Center due to the lack of fuel supply to power the generator, as well as the unavailability of the requisite computer software to produce the needed documents to members of the public.
Many persons visiting the Lofa County Service Center on a daily basis are constrained to wait months while their data are being sent to Monrovia for processing, or in some instance travel to Monrovia themselves if they want those needed documents to come in handy.
Recently, during a visit to the county, Lofa senator George T. Tengbeh expressed concern over the dismal performance of the Center.
It is unfortunate to have a center open but still is unable to provide the requisite services to its citizens, Senator Tengbeh said.
“You will have to keep us informed about these kinds of challenges and we as lawmakers can work as a team to address some of them,” the Lofa lawmaker told authorities at the Lofa Service Center.
During the opening of the Lofa County Service Center last year, service seekers in the county were informed that they would no longer have to go through the strain of travelling the long distance to Monrovia to obtain basic documents such as birth and marriage certificates, indicating that through the Center, such documents would have been produced and provided in the county.
Lofa County Service Centre Coordinator, Mr. Oliver Arkoi remains tight-lipped over the progress and challenges at the facility in spite of countless efforts by the media to have him speak on happenings at the Center.
Through Government of Liberia support and a collaboration with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the Lofa County Service Centre was renovated via the UNMIL Quick Impact Project (QIP).
The Center staff was recruited locally, most of whom were already working with various government ministries and agencies in Lofa County.
