— Over Delayed Audit Reports; Alleged Financial Mismanagement
By Newton Flomo
GANTA, Nimba County –Residents across Nimba County are voicing growing frustration with County Superintendent Kou Meapea Gono, accusing her of stalling the release of a long-awaited public audit report that could expose financial mismanagement from previous administrations.
During a lively radio call-in show on local station Radio Nimba last week, dozens of callers from towns like Sanniquellie, Karnplay, and Tappita lambasted the superintendent for failing to deliver on a key promise.
“We tuned in expecting transparency, but it’s been radio silence for years,” said one caller, Emmanuel Tokpah, a teacher from Ganta adding that Superintendent Gono stood at her inauguration in September 2014, right here in the county fairgrounds under the sweltering sun, vowing to audit the past government’s books and root out corruption.”
The controversy stems from Gono’s inaugural pledge to investigate fiscal irregularities dating back to her predecessor’s tenure, amid widespread allegations of misused development funds for roads, schools, and health clinics in Liberia’s vast, mineral-rich Nimba County home to over 500,000 people and key iron ore operations.
Listeners pointed to stalled infrastructure projects, like the pothole-riddled Ganta-Sanniquellie highway and under-equipped rural clinics, as evidence of lingering issues.
Multiple sources close to the county administration told this correspondent that powerful figures are blocking the report’s release.
“Key Nimbaians – top businessmen, government officials, and even lawmakers have their names tied to questionable deals in those pages,” one insider revealed, speaking on condition of anonymity due to political sensitivities. “They’re pressuring the superintendent through back channel meetings in Monrovia, warning of backlash if it goes public. She’s caught between her word and their influence.”
Superintendent Gono’s office has not responded to requests for comment. However, during a recent town hall in Sanniquellie, she defended her record, noting achievements like improved school enrollment and agricultural grants.
