CENTAL Heightens Awareness to Improve Transparency in Service Delivery in Margibi, Bong, and Grand Bassa Counties
Even though there exist County Service Centers (CSC) across Liberia to increase access to critical services like the acquisition of birth and marriage certificates, among others, many locals are rarely aware of the existence, leading to low access rates. It was against this backdrop that the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), as part of its Strengthening Political Governance and Accountability in Liberia Project funded by the Embassy of Ireland in Liberia, conducted a series of engagements with community dwellers and stakeholders in Margibi, Bong, and Grand Bassa Counties.
The project is being implemented by a consortium of three civil society organizations—the Center for Democratic Governance (CDG), Naymote Liberia, and the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL)—with a focus on improving public service delivery, local governance, democracy, and accountability in the sectors of health and education.
The engagements, which occurred from 18th to 23rd January 2026, were, amongst many others, intended to promote transparency in local service delivery and support national anti-corruption efforts by increasing education around ways to access services and platforms available to report corruption.
Throughout the engagements, the different stakeholders expressed the need for continuous engagement to foster accountability and transparency in local service delivery, inclusion, and governance. Also, the need for continued national efforts to support local governance was reemphasized.
“We are grateful to you for the partnership and efforts in the promotion of local service delivery, inclusion, and governance. Through continued collaboration and engagements, the narratives will change,” said Clinton Sayleh, Coordinator, Grand Bassa County Service Center.
For his part, Arthur Crawford, Coordinator of the Bong County Service Center, acknowledged the continued engagements through capacity-building training, community outreach, material support (suggestion boxes and Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials), and encouraged staff members of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, National Identification Registry, Ministry of Transport, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Center for National Documents and Records Agency, and other Ministry, Agency and Commissions (MACs) to be more proactive in service delivery and local governance.
During the engagements, members of the county councils, including the coordinators of the service centers, were encouraged to share their work plans and confronted on ways of possible collaboration to promote local service delivery and support local governance efforts.
“While we continue to appreciate the different partnerships for the continued support of local governance, we should not be complacent in engaging citizens about the promotion of local governance and inclusion,” Nancy T. Bryant, Chairperson of the Grand Bassa County Council, stated.
These engagements were not unique to the coordinators and staff of the service centers and county council members, it also triggered down to local community dwellers. These outreach engagements gathered at least fifty (50) participants during each engagement. Participants, including youth, women, men, religious leaders, and persons with disabilities, gathered in palava huts and open spaces to listen and participate in issues of education, health, service delivery, and anti-corruption.
Based on the different testimonies gathered from the community dwellers, the team committed to increasing advocacy for improvement in service delivery and highlighted its support to education and health as a priority for the remote communities.
Torwon F. Gensee, CENTAL’s Project Coordinator, expressed concerns over the quality of services in the education sector, especially in rural areas.
Challenges and recommendations emanating from these engagements were welcoming, as the team prepares to proactively engage stakeholders and citizens on improving service delivery, local governance, and anti-corruption efforts through collaboration and advocacy.