Mano River Union Road Development and Transport Facilitation Programme, Phase II
In September 2018, the AfDB Board approved the Multi-Mano River Union Road Development and Transportation Facilitation Programme, Phase II a regional initiative to develop and pave a total of 67.1 km of road linking South-eastern Liberia and the western part of Cote D’Ivoire. According to project documents, the program objective is to provide efficient road transport access to South East and North West counties of Liberia and the western part of Côte d’Ivoire.
According to the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), the project will benefit road users, transporters, farmers, the project area population of about 790,000 inhabitants, and especially marginalized groups such as women and children who constitute the majority of the population in the project area. The indirect beneficiaries are the people of the two program countries and of the neighboring countries, especially Guinea and, by extension, West African countries.
In 2023, the Committee for Peace and Development Advocacy (COPDA), with technical support from BIC, started to monitor the impact of the road construction on both the environment and the communities.
Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment/Gender-Based Violence (SEAH/GBV) cases due to labor influx: Community members reported high incidents of SEAH/GBV due to labor influx. Road construction workers have reportedly exploited young women, including school going girls, and later abandoned them with their newborn babies. Additionally, there are no SEAH/GBV prevention or response measures in the community, which is worsening the already dire situation. COPDA engaged a number of SEAH/GBV survivors and victims and held discussions with commissioners, local authorities, women leaders, youth representatives, and local town chiefs to raise awareness of SEAH/GBV in the road construction. COPDA had a meeting with the AfDB and the Ministry of Public Works, where they presented their findings. In March 2024, the AfDB organized a mission to the project area and met with some of the SEAH/GBV victims. AfDB is currently working on a report on this mission which will be shared with COPDA.
Community is unaware of the Grievance redress Mechanism (GRM): The GRM is unknown to the communities and project-affected persons (PAPs). Communities and PAPs do not know where to report their grievances. Additionally, there are no referral pathways in the community to which cases or complaints can be reported. In response, the Ministry of Public Works said that there is a GRM, but we found that it was not functional. The Ministry has since committed to revive, strengthen, and provide the necessary training on SEAH/GBV to all GRM members.
No compensation for some pre-marked household structures: Numerous households whose structures were pre-marked for compensation are yet to receive payment, but the Ministry of Works confirmed that compensation is ongoing and all PAPs will be compensated. In addition, the Ministry committed to improve its communication with the PAPs on this issue.
Crop destruction without compensation: Communities in Zorgowee, Sehyikempa, and Loguatuo complained about non-compensation for destroyed farms and crops, including palm farms, rice farms, and vegetable gardens. The Ministry has committed to look into these complaints.
Ecological damage and land degradation: There has been extensive damage to forests and land degradation due to the extraction of material for road construction, which demands immediate attention to mitigate environmental consequences.
Damaged water sources: Damage to water sources in many towns and villages such as Duoplay (where the hand pump was damaged), Sehyikempa, and Zorgowee (where the river was damaged) has led to a severe shortage of safe drinking water, especially in areas where hand pumps were affected by the road construction.
Structural damage and vibration issues: Vibrations from heavy earth-moving equipment are causing structural damage (cracks) to buildings, including the Zorgowee Public School as well as Churches in Sehyikempa, Karnplay, Duoplay, Loguatu, Zorgowee, and other communities. These complaints were raised with the Ministry team and they committed to follow up and will provide compensation where due.
Children injured during construction: The blasting associated with the project has resulted in injuries to children. For example, some children in Dulay were hit by stones as a result of the blasting and required hospitalization. Urgent safety measures are required to prevent further harm to communities. The Ministry of Public Works committed to follow up on these complaints.
The Ministry of Public works, with technical support from the AfDB should, develop and implement a SEAH/GBV action plan. This plan should be developed in consultation with the SEA/H victims, community members, Ministry of Gender, police, health service providers, and any other relevant stakeholders. The plan should be time bound, specific, have a budget, and be publically available on both the Ministry and AfDB websites.
With support from the AfDB, the Ministry should investigate SEAH/GBV cases in a survivor-centered approach, provide remedy including counseling and medical services, and hold the perpetrators accountable. The Ministry should also protect SEAH/GBV victims and survivors from retaliation and support them with a livelihood restoration program so that they are able to earn an income to look after their children.
The Ministry of Public Works should continuously train the GRM members on SEAH/GBV, building their capacity to receive, handle, or refer SEAH/GBV cases or complaints in a child-friendly and a victim-centered manner.
The Ministry of Public Works, with support from the Ministry of Gender and civil society organizations (CSOs), should build or strengthen structures in the communities to act as referral pathways for victims to report cases of SEAH/GBV. In addition, the Ministry should have a toll-free line to encourage confidential reporting of SEAH/GBV cases or complaints.
The Ministry should follow up with the implementing company to have the code of conduct include detailed definitions of SEAH/GBV, including child SEAH, unacceptable behaviors, and sanctions that are clear and actionable if these are not already included. Additionally, project workers and staff should be regularly trained on SEAH/GBV risks and existing response and prevention measures
The Ministry should follow up with the implementing company to have more local community members employed on the project, as they are already known in the communities and can be easily identified in case of SEAH/GBV allegations
The Ministry, together with the implementing company, should organize regular community sensitization events (radio talk shows, drama plays, community meetings) on SEAH/GBV and drive awareness of the referral pathways, GRMs, and the existing national and international laws and policies on SEAH/GBV.
Work with the Ministry of Public Works to investigate SEAH/GBV cases and provide remedy to the survivors and victims. During these investigations, safe spaces should be provided to the survivors and victims to be able to share their stories without fear of retaliation from anyone.
Work with the Ministry of Public Works to develop and implement the SEAH/GBV Action Plan. This Action Plan should be developed in consultation with all key stakeholders including CSOs, women, girls, youth, local leaders, and supporting Ministries such as the Ministry of Gender and Ministry of Education.
Work with the Ministry of Public Works to strengthen the Grievance Redress Mechanisms (GRMs) to make it independent and accessible for children, and support creating and driving awareness around it. GRMs need to be set up in a child-friendly manner and located in areas easily accessible by children. Throughout the project cycle, project-affected persons should be informed about the existence of the Independent Recourse Mechanism (IRM) as part of the GRM. GRMs should be functional, representative, accessible, independent, and child-friendly.
Continue to engage with CSOs working in the project areas in a meaningful way.The AfDB should continue to meaningfully engage CSOs monitoring projects, especially those that closely work with children and on the environment in project areas. This way, the AfDB can continue to learn about project concerns, facilitate knowledge sharing, and better design preventive and response measures to risks identified to children and the environment.
The AfDB should increase the number of monitoring missions to the project area. With this being a high risk project, the AfDB should continuously monitor the implementation of the project and confirm that the SEAH/GBV Action Plan is in line with the Integrated Safeguard System (ISS) in order to protect and provide remedy to PAPs.
The AfDB should provide regular training on SEAH/GBV and the ISS to the Ministry of Public Works, implementing company, GRM members, and other stakeholders working on the project.
The Ministry of Public Works should quickly and fairly compensate the PAPs for their destroyed property and crops. The Ministry should make the compensation process transparent and participatory and should provide information in a timely and understandable manner.
The Ministry should implement and monitor safety measures during road construction. This should include material extraction such as in the quarries to avoid accidents and injuries to communities.
Revamp the Grievance Redress Mechanism. The GRM should be easily accessible, independent, child and gender-friendly, reprisal-sensitive, and designed as per the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights Number 31. Additionally, the Ministry of Public Works and the AfDB should drive awareness of the availability and function of the project GRM as well as the IRM.
Develop a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP). The Ministry, with support from the AfDB, should develop a SEP to prioritize community engagement and active participation of all stakeholders including marginalized groups such as children, youth, women, older persons, and persons with disabilities. In addition, the SEP should commit to releasing routine information on the project’s environmental and social performance, including opportunities for consultation and how grievances will be managed.
Include Environmental Protection Measures. Implement strict measures to mitigate environmental impacts, including sustainable construction practices and restoration of damaged ecosystems and water sources. Additionally, the Ministry should continuously carry out environmental monitoring as per the ESMP, which states that “Environmental monitoring will be carried out to ensure that all construction activities comply and adhere to environmental provisions and standard specifications, so that all mitigation measures are implemented”.
Increase Collaboration with CSOs. Foster partnerships with CSOs to amplify advocacy efforts and enhance accountability. Protect CSOs who are raising community concerns from retaliation. Ministry staff should refrain from retaliating or intimidating COPDA staff and the community members who are raising complaints.
Improve Monitoring and Evaluation. Both the AfDB and the Ministry should implement a robust monitoring framework to track project impacts to inform adaptive, sustainable, and inclusive risk prevention and response measures.
