Correct, Alleys Opening in Kolahun & Kolba Is Sponsored by Former Rep Massaquoi

By Fatorma Dunor, TSM Lofa Fellow

Claim: “Former Lofa County District #3 Representative Clarence Massaquoi, in partnership with the Kolahun City Corporation (KCC), opens alleys in Kolahun, Kolba City.”

 

Verdict: True, the opening of major alleys in Kolahun, Kolba City, is sponsored by Former Rep. Massaquoi.

Full Text: On Sunday, March 2, 2025, Voice of Lofa posted a claim that former Lofa County District #3 representative, Clarence Massaquoi, is opening a major alley in Kolba cities, Kolahun District.

The post stated the project is sponsored by the former lawmaker in partnership with KCC. As of the time of this check, the post generated 229 reactions, 121 comments, and 18 shares.

Clarence Massaquoi was elected in 2011, and served for 12 years. In 2023, he lost to Momo Siafa Kpoto, the current representative of District #3 Lofa County.

 

Verification: To verify this claim, we visited the official Facebook page of the Ministry of Public Works and discovered that on December 17, 2024, a team of technicians headed by the Deputy Minister for Technical Services, Prince Tambah, was in Lofa under the President’s Special Road Maintenance Project on both primary and secondary road. The team visited Kolahun District, where the current road work is taking place. 

We also contacted Joseph K. Yarkoi, Commissioner of Kolahun District who confirmed that ‘’while it is true that they have written sons and daughters of Kolahun District for support of the construction of the road in the city, only Massaquoi provided 1000 gallons of fuel and arranged the yellow machine for the project.’’

This fact-checker also contacted the current legislator of the district, Momo Siafa Kpoto, to ascertain whether the project was earmarked under the district’s legislative project for the district.

Kpoto said that the project is part of his legislative project for the district and LACE had made all necessary arrangements to begin the project.

“I was surprised when I heard the city mayor of Kolba city disclosing that the former lawmaker sponsored the project. We had even brought 16 drums of fuel days before the actual construction began and have asked the district authorities to take receipt of it but to no avail,’’ said Kpoto.

To further verify this claim, we also visited the Ministry of Public Works official page and saw an “Advertisement of Roads/Bridges and Goods for FY-2025’’ dated February 25, 2025. In this advertisement, we discovered a ‘’periodic maintenance of Kolahun/Kolba city bypass.’’

 

Conclusion: Despite the fact that the Ministry of Public Works has advertised for the construction of roads in Kolahun District and that LACE has made arrangements for the construction of roads in Kolba city under Kpoto's legislative project, the current road rehabilitation work in Kolba city, Kolahun District, is sponsored by Clarence Massaquoi, a former Lofa County District #3 Representative.