In a quest to sensitize Journalists on the importance of Roads and Bridge Maintenance, the Ministry of Public Works, in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur International Zusammenarbeit ( GIZ ) and the Liberia News Agency (LINA) conducted a one-day workshop to bring journalists up to speed with the importance of maintaining Roads and Bridges.

Presenting at the workshop, Mr. Abdul Mansaray, the Advisor for Capacity Development in the Transport Sector at GIZ, stressed the importance of Road and Bridge Maintenance and said the lack of routine maintenance will shorten the lifespan of a Road or Bridge which could post a serious threat to Public Safety. He also encouraged the Journalists to serve as the conduit for information dissemination between the Government and the Public to ensure the Public is well informed on the importance of Road and Bridge Maintenance.

Meanwhile; Mr. Mansaray also said, "when the right information is provided, the citizens will begin to act properly to ensure a longer lifespan of our Roads and Bridges".

Also speaking at the workshop; Mr. Achie B. Konwaye, the Chief Engineer at the Ministry of Public Works, said "Road and Bridge maintenance is crucial because it helps reduce the cost of operating Vehicles, increases Economic Growth, Lower life-Cycle Cost, and improve Social Development. He said the lack of a system to ensure routine Road and Bridge Maintenance can lead to Blockage of Drainages and Culverts, Collapsing of Bridges and it also causes poor service.

It can be recalled; Recently the Government of Liberia, through the of Ministry of Public Works (MPW) and the National Road Fund ( NRF) signed a financial agreement with GIZ amounting to US$300,000 for the purpose of Roads and Bridge maintenance.

The said amount is intended to ensure routine maintenance on five Roads and Bridge Projects around Monrovia and its environ. Namely; Caldwell-Louisiana road, covering 12km, Clara Town-Jamaica Road 2.7km, Neezoe-Parker Paint-Zayzay Community 8.4km, GSA Road 9.5km, A.B Tolbert Road 8.4km, and the St Paul Bridge.