By Daniel Garteh
Tension during the week erupted between citizens of Zorgowee Town in District # 3 Nimba County over a cheque that was issued by the African Development Bank to the town.
It all started when the cheque was issued to the Zorgowee Town Chief Steven Saye for their town hall which falls in the right way of the road which is expected to be paved by the China Railway seventh group limited, a road project sponsored by the African Development Bank and the World Bank.
The cheque which is in a of over two million Liberian dollars (LRD$2,000,000.00) was issued to Steven Says on behalf of the town to be deposited in a bank yet to be identifed by citizens of Zorgowee.
Some citizens were bitterly arguing that the Town chief who has been allegedly suspended by the clan chief should not handle the cheque in question on behalf of the town.
Payment for properties and tree crops that will be affected alone the Sehyikimpa – Luogatuo Road commenced on December 1, 2019 in Luogatuo with tree crops owner receiving cheques for the expected damage tree crops.
The Zorgowee Town hall is one of those properties that will be damaged during the road pavement.
For his part, the Secretary of the youth of Zorgowee Cooper Kruah, Jr. appearing on a local Radio station, Radio Nimba, explained that the chief took the cheque to one Benedict Quato in Monrovia without their consent to be deposited in the Bank account of Zor Development Association an organization operated by Quato.
Dismissing the information, Quato lamented that Kruah was speaking from an uninformed background.
He explained that the Town chief in question seek for refugee in Monrovia to prominent sons and daughters from the Clan on grounds that his life was threatened by some citizens of the town, and they requested him to turn the cheque to the county authority for settlement.
The controversy surrounding the checque also landed chiefs and elders of clan to the Sanniquellie police station before it was finally taken to the county authority for peaceful settlement.
Receiving the cheque on behalf of the county administration, the Secretary to the superintendent Paul K. Karnue said that the county authority will visit the town over the weekend to settle the issue of the controversial cheque.
Appearing before the county administration, Town chief Steven Saye explained that the appraisal of the town hall was done in his name something which was the agreement of the general town.
Chief Saye lamented: “The people came and check the house and the town asked me to stand for my photo to be taken and my name was written on the cheque to be delivered to the town.”
“When I received the cheque, some people came over night throwing rocks over my house and threating to kill me if I don’t turn the cheque to the Clan chief”, he told Liberia Public Radio.
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