MONROVIA-The weekend of May 15, 2026, came with it showers of blessings, honor and recognition for Richard Matenokay Tingban, son of the well revered Paramount Chief of Nimba County – Willie Beh Tingban who passed in 2010 at age 102, born on February 16, 1908.
Currently serving Liberia as the Minister of Mines and Energy, having previously served as Nimba County District #9 Representative, R. Matenokay Tingban, in collaboration with the Honorable Vice President of the Republic of Liberia, Jeremiah Kpan Koung, has undertaken the construction of roads leading to the towns of Mehnla, Nyonkiayee, Zahn Goala, GlehyeeZorpea, Laintoin, Garr, Guotoin, Buotoin, Zekepa, Sendin, Kporwin, etcetera – all in District #9 in fulfilment of the Rescue Agenda of President Boakai’s led Government.
The massive celebratory weekend’s honor and appreciation program was hosted by the townspeople of Nyonkiayee, and wasorganized by D-Max Leboe who is a childhood friend of Minister Tingban, residing in the United States of America but back home visiting.
Marked by traditional dances, cultural performances and musical extravaganza, Minister Tingban received one of the highest honors from his people for prioritizing their wellbeing through attracting developmental initiatives back home to improve their living conditions. Chief and Elders gowned him [R. Matenokay Tingban] and gifted him with two gigantic cows.
During the two honoring ceremonies in Nyonkiayee Town, Yarmin Mensonnoh administrative district, Mr. D-Max Leboereminisced his boyhood days with Minister Tingban, which he said looked promising that they both would have had excellent upbringings and be concerned about their fellow townspeople living decent lives.
Mr. Leboe commended Minister Tingban for firstly catering to the needs of his people while serving as the Director of Mines and Acting Assistant Minister for Mines, District Representative at the Legislature, and now the Minister of Mines and Energy. He encouraged other sons and daughters of Yarwin Mensonnohto join hands with him and Minister R. Matenokay Tingban to scale up development in their ancestral land. Among other pleasantries exchanged during the weekend’s honoring of Tingban, the Elders and Townspeople speaking in their local vernacular, wished him well in his service to Country and said prayers for God to continuously increase his wisdom and protect him on the job.
Responding to the appreciation, Minister Tingban thanked God for the blessings He [God] has bestowed upon him and his family. The Honoree [Tingban] assured that there should be nowhere called an interior that restricts people from accessing basic social services available in metropolitan areas. The Mines and Energy Minister then called on his fellow officials in government to be good ambassadors and vice jurors of the Presidency, and Vice Presidency.
Minister Tingban remarked that the head of state cannot be present everywhere at the same time but noted that the visibility of the President, and the Vice President should be reflected through the appointed officials such as himself. Expounding on this point further, the Glehee Zorpea Son indicated that the impact of the government’s development agenda will be felt by the citizenry when those who are given the opportunity to serve in top positions in the Country demonstrate true leadership by caring for the people. This, Minister Tingban explained, can happen through little projects that serve meaningful purposes of transforming the people’s lives.
In actualizing modern living standards of the people despite their geographical hinterland location or place of residence, Minister Tingban has installed modern pipe-borne water facilities in Glehee Zorpea – which is his hometown. The people in that town in Yarwin Mensonnoh administrative district also have been given access to street lights powered by photocell solar panels.
Among other interventions Minister Tingban has outlined in his plan for seeing his people live decent lives include procuring a modern ferry that will provide easier means of transportation on the St. John River for all of the surrounding towns of YarwinMensonnoh administrative district once headed by him [Tingban] as Representative. He is on record for providing the people of that district with wooden ferries but with the changing hands of time, the Minister sees it necessary to have a much better facility to reduce risks of traveling on the rivers. The Minister commended his childhood friend – D-Max Leboe for organizing an appreciation program in his honor, and also thanked him for keeping his people in mind despite being a permanent resident of the United States.
Whilst en route back to Monrovia, Minister Tingban made stopovers to a few other towns in Yarwin Mensonnoh during which brief meetings centered around practical development were held. The Minister stopped by at the docking point of the Yarr River and explained to the media that if a modern ferry or a steel bridge was constructed over that river, it would simply connect Districts #8, and #9 in terms of easier and cost-saving transportation.
What appeared shocking to the watchful audience was Minister Tingban’s disclaimer to the people of Yarwin Mensonnoh with political interest in the district that they should not misconstrue his developmental initiatives for his interest to recontest for the Representative seat of District #9, Nimba County.
“When I was at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, I was not thinking about being a Representative. It was people who put me into it. Now, I am not thinking in that direction, so, because am from here, I shouldn’t help my people with development?” He declared.
He made it clear that he has no elective political interest in District #9, and that the flame of his developmental drive will remain burning until his people are seen living decently as anyone else would do in a metropolitan area. His personal political pressure group – Friends of Tingban (FOT) was well represented at the weekend’s honoring and appreciation program held in Nyonkiayee Town, Nimba County, along with another organization he founded with the name: ‘Yarwin MesonnohDevelopment Association’.
