Citizens of Bluyeama Clan in Zorzor District, Lofa County, have given contrary views about the success of the Government of Liberia Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) campaign.

The Development Chairman of Bluyeama Clan, Mr. Henry K. Weefah, told this Paper that the government PRS campaign will not be successful if all parts of the country, especially the interior are not prioritized.

According to Mr. Weefah, Bluyeama Clan consists of more than 12 towns and villages. "Citizens of this Clan are suffering, the impact of the government PRS is not felt in this part of the country," Mr. Weefah noted.

"We don't know whether there is anything called PRS, we lack car roads, better health facilities and other things, but we thank God you the journalists came here to see for yourself and you should go and tell the people that we are suffering." Mr. Weefah explained.

Many of the citizens who spoke to our reporter cited the lack of motor roads in the district, especially Bluyeama Clan as a major problem facing them.

They said agricultural products from the district cannot reach the market because there is no motor road to facilitate the conveying of the produce to markets centers. As a result, the citizens cannot earn anything from their hard labor and efforts made in investing in the soil.

Our reporter who just returned from the area said most of the citizens in that part of Lofa County walk for about a day before having access to motor roads or health facilities. He described the situation as frustrating and pathetic.

According to pillar four of the PRS, "Rehabilitating infrastructure, delivering of basic social services, building of the roads and adequate transportation across the country, revamping the railway network, civil aviation and sea ports, should be a top priority."

The Poverty Reduction Strategy papers say it will "build or reconstruct 1.187 miles of primary roads, 1.075 miles will be paved and 300 miles of all-weather secondary roads around the country; and rehabilitate or construct 400 miles of feeder roads." This is something the citizens of Bluyeama Clan say, they are yet to see it come to pass.

Meanwhile, the citizens are appealing to the government and its international partners to come to their aid. They noted that the government will make gains in her PRS campaign if the people in the interior are made to feel the impact.

The PRS papers were introduced in 1999 by the World Bank and the International Monitoring Fund (IMF), also know as the Britton Words Institution(BWI) as a replacement for the structural adjustment programmes (SAP) of the 1980s.

The introduction of the PRSPs was intended to address the failings of the SAPs and improve living standard in poor countries like Liberia.