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The National Democratic Institute (NDI) in partnership with the 53RD legislature has concluded weeklong four counties tour with the sole purpose to investigate and determine how affordable housing units can be built for low-in-come earners in the country.
The exercise is intended to guide policy makers in the formulation of policies as it relates to the provision of affordable housing facilities for low in come earners in Liberia.
The four counties that were toured by the joint NDI and the 53rd Legislature include Montserrado, Grand Bassa, Margibi, and Bomi respectively. The 53rd legislature was represented by Sen. Peter Coleman, Sen. Oscar Cooper, Rep. Johnson Toe Chea, Hon. Munah Pelham and the respective Press Bureaus of the House and the Senate, while the NDI was represented by Miss Nannah Seekey, Mr. Leo Platvoet, NDI’s Program Manager and two National and International Experts Mr. Jamal Denthol (Liberian) with Mr. Ohane Sarfon (Ghanian).
The initiative also included Major Stakeholders in the Housing business, the National Housing Authority (NHA) and a Liberian construction company, Eco Home, located in Margibi County. During the consultative meetings officials of the four counties in a separate note have expressed their willingness to work cooperatively with donors in making sure the project objective is achieved.
The superintendent of Bomi County Mr. Samuel F. Brown and Tubman burg City Major Edwin F. McGill told the team that Bomi citizens have embraced the initiative because the county lacks accommodation capacities.

Speaking further, the two officials told the team that Bomi is blessed with billion worth of investment, as a result of that; Liberians are pulling in the county in search for better livelihood. This according to them has made the cost of living in the county very challenging as rental has increased dramatically.
They said the construction of Housing units is investment by itself in Bomi because there is rapid migration of people in the county. In a related development, the fact finding team in a town hall meeting with people of west point was amazed with unbelievable remarks by west pointers, especially when they said they rent a single room with no facilities such as bath room, kitchen, living room, etc.
They said even though the average size of a family is eight to ten persons in a single room, there is a need for an intervention, but if the intervention is not their interest; they will not accept.
The west pointers, many of whom were so apprehensive as a result of an abused notion that the exercise is intended to relocate them, told the fact-finding team that the issue of sanitation and dwelling are some of the major problems they are faced with.