Things Fall Apart

-Mending a community on the brink of collapse

Corruption. The leader had brazenly indulged in it. The townspeople disavowed it. Hopes that it would be addressed fizzled with the passing of time. The local government could not confront it, and even the long-revered tradition wavered in its face. The unthinkable had happened. This time not in government but the community. A venerated community leader had engaged in corruption. The trust was broken and confidence betrayed.  Corruption now stood in the way of societal harmony. Residents no longer trusted town authority. There was minimum adherence to long-held customs. Indeed, things began to fall apart.  

Neegbein is a town located less than 3 kilometers from the commercial city of Ganta in Nimba County. Like other rural Liberian communities, the town has different measures and norms to control and regulate activities of its resident. Fines are imposed on violators and amounts generated from fines go toward community development. The town relied on its traditional method of saving funds with prominent individuals rather than saving with banks in Ganta just next door. Fear of bureaucracy associated with the banking process and the need for emergency interventions with the funds further justified keeping funds with prominent individuals within the community.

Nyan Gonquoi (not his real name) was entrusted with One hundred and Five Thousand Eight Hundred Liberian dollars (L$105,800) for safekeeping when he served as town chief of Neegbein. The said amount was raised through fines paid by violators. Out of the amount received, Sixty-One Thousand Liberian dollars (L$61,000) was withdrawn by the community for agreed expenditures, thereby leaving a balance of Forty-Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Fifty Liberian Dollars (LRD 44,750.00). By June 30, 2020, Nyan had failed to account for the remaining amount. Nyan was soon booted out as town chief. Further efforts to have him restitute the funds yielded no result.  

Due to his refusal to restitute the community money, members of the town became lawless as many could not accept to be held accountable since their former town Chief was not being held similarly. They resisted payments of fines and refused to contribute funds for the Community and other development purposes as a result of the defiant posture of their former Chief. 

Violators of long-established laws now benefited from impunity. Theft, domestic violence, disorderly conduct, etc. became frequent. But community members were still hopeful of finding an amicable solution to the matter. With traditional dispute resolution mechanisms failing, and local government also failing to act on their complaint, they began to look externally for an answer to their accountability nightmare. 

On July 19, 2021, Saye Zarwolo, a member of Neegbein community, tuned to CENTAL’s Integrity Watch Radio Program, via a local radio station in Nimba. Upon hearing of a mechanism to report corruption and integrity-related issues through a toll-free hotline (4432), Saye took immediate advantage of the opportunity and contacted CENTAL’s Advocacy and Legal Advice Center (ALAC). 

The next day, CENTAL-ALAC dispatched a team to the community to better understand the situation. Separate meetings were held with the accused Chief and other stakeholders. There was confusion over the outstanding balance in the possession of Nyan (the former Chief). To resolve this, CENTAL proposed a meeting to ensure that the records are properly reconciled. A week later, the meeting took place and it was confirmed that Forty-Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Fifty Liberian Dollars (LRD 44,750.00) was the amount needed to be restituted. But Chief Nyan would not assure the community of the refund.

A meeting was called on August 14, 2021, with the aim of amicably resolving the matter. CENTAL provided technical support to the community to invite the District Commissioner and other key personalities to the meeting. At the meeting, Chief Nyan admitted to his wrongdoing and promised to have the money refunded. 

The townspeople insisted that a reputable person guarantees the repayment. Following consultation, Chief Nyan brought forward a guarantor who promised to repay the amount in the event that the Chief fails to do so. It was then agreed that amount be restituted in six (6) installments, beginning September 15, 2021. True to his commitment, the first payment has been made to the community. Community members have begun to respect town laws including payment of fines. 

“What was going on in this town was causing a lot of problems for us, we thank you people [CENTAL] for bringing us together to look into this money business,” Kou Deninikor, Chairlady of Neegbein Women. 

This is what Shelton Guraseah, Development Chairman of Neegbein had to say: “With the Chief agreeing to his wrongdoing and promising to fully make payment, a great step has been taken. We thank CENTAL for helping us reach this stage.” 

CENTAL is now supporting the community to open an account with a local bank in the County. Harmony has returned, peace reigns and the community is holding together. Thanks to the Government of Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) for the support.