Liberia: Despite big boom of US $1.6m from JNB-F donated ferryboat operation, Bong’s Bonkumu Clan sees no development in 8yrs.

…President Boakai concerned, says JNB Foundation chief executive

By James Kokulo Fasuekoi|Editor-Publisher

Believe it or not but it is true: one heavily populated ethnic Kpelle clan named Bonkumu in Bong County’s Sanoyea Dist. has seen no development in over eight years despite a ferryboat given to citizens of the region by current Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai’s charity generated US. $1.6m from operation.  

Addressing more than a hundred people Wednesday (Feb. 19,) at Kelebei Town hall, a makeshift structure, Hon. Jackson K. George, chief executive for the JNB Foundation revealed the “Kelebei ferry,” the most active (among all six ferries donated by JNB-F), has raised around US $1.6m since its deployment from 2017 till now.   

He hastened however to add that despite this reality, per his recollection, the region, he regrettably maintained, is yet to show a single viable development linked to the ferry boat business there-one of the biggest businesses in the area-since it began operation.

“No school, no clinic, no market, no pump, nothing! [US] $1.6m [is gone] since it started [operation] but nothing! These children need a better life. If this [ferry] is making money, these children will go to school; they need cloths, and shoes on their feet. They need to go to hospital,” he told the town’s elders, young men and women.

“This is not about us,” he continued, and added that it was about the welfare of the children of Liberia. This trip had come at the behest of current President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr., a man he stated is quite concerned about the welfare of the people of this region and wants to see peace and development there.

It was also discovered that the township still lacks a functioning hand-pump which leaves locals with no option but to fetch their drinking water from a nearby creek. The town hall where this meeting took place is a makeshift structure, showing the level of neglect that on the part of both citizens and officials of this region in terms of development.

Hon. George and his entourage were highly welcomed in Kpelle Traditional styles and given a plate containing white rice and kola nuts, a gesture that symbolizes purity of heart. The bowl then went from hand to hand, amid the recitation of traditional norms before it finally reached Mr. George, whose mother and wife also hail from Sanoyea.    

The meeting had come days after the township led a delegation to Monrovia and met with Hon. George, regarding the ferryboat matter with respect to have it resume full-scale operation in the area.

The boat went missing September 2024, after it reportedly capsized at David & Gunta St. Paul River crossing point, leaving one middle-aged man drowning to death. The man’s death further escalated existing animosity within Bonkumu and Lorla clans, setting one family against the other.

The body of the missing man remains at large as of the time of this publication. He was said to be the son of one elderly man who’s accused of single-handily running the ferry and allegedly diverting funds to his personal use. We couldn’t reach him for comment.

The ferryboat is reported to have drifted far away from the scene of the boat accident after the mishap. Local authorities in the area commenced investigation into the boat accident and the mysterious circumstance under which he died, leading to the grounding of the ferry temporarily.    

Kelebei itself (also spelled as “Kelebi”), has an estimated 3000 people which tells why the ferry business here is booming, along this dirt road that leads to Gbarpolu and the Belle Forest or Belle Yellah, a key trade center for gold, diamond and timber.

When the ferry is running operators charged a single car LD $5,000.00 and US $100.00 for a gold-diamond digging machine. A motorbike crosses for LD $ 500.00 while a single person pays LD $100. So, on average the Kelebei ferry reported between LD $50,000 to $55,000.00 weekly, with multiple signatures attached to its bank account, they said.

Yet, conflict has never stayed away from the region, and it is often centered on the ferry operation and who collects the proceeds. And it is something, says Hon. George, pushed him closer to removing the ferry and re-deploying it elsewhere where it may be needed most but said he changed his decision because life was at stake.

He pleaded with locals to start a new chapter and let “bye gone be bye gone” and reunite for the good of their clan while promising to restore ferry operation back to the area soon.  

After the 2027 elections in which then Vice President Joseph Boakai Sr. lost election, his charity donated six ferries for deployment in certain parts of the country as part of his earlier promised dream to the people, and contribution in efforts aimed to help alleviate hardship and poverty in rural dwellings.

Hon. George and party took along a 300 ft. long heavy cable wire that would keep the ferry boat anchored properly to avoid letting it to drift off as before. He also promised to secure boat safety jackets, as well as motor equipment for the boat when he travels to Europe this winter which he indicated is part of safety measure to keep all travelers onboard the ferry safe.  

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