UN envoy inaugurates another police station in Liberia as part of overall assistance

The top United Nations envoy to Liberia has inaugurated a new police station in Lofa County as part of the world body’s continued effort to help the West African nation rebuild after 14 years of bloody civil war was replaced by democracy.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative Alan Doss formally handed over the Zorzor police station to the Liberia National Police (LNP) after it was reconstructed using funds provided by the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). The station is of particular strategic importance due to its proximity to the Guinean border, the mission said in a news release issued today.

“This project is part of a broader programme for UNMIL to refurbish, rebuild and re-equip the institutions that are needed to protect people and advance justice in this country,” Mr. Doss said during handover ceremony.

“UNMIL has already trained over 1,800 LNP officers and we hope to have at least 3,500 trained LNP officers deployed throughout the country by August next year,” he added, noting that the police had suffered a great deal during the war and reaffirming the UN’s commitment to restoring the force.

The Zorzor station was rebuilt as one of UNMIL’s Quick Impact Projects, a scheme that so far has allocated over $700,000 for the construction and renovation of police stations, court houses, prisons and immigration facilities across Liberia.

Mr. Doss also spoke about the signing earlier this week of a landmark $4 million agreement between Liberia’s Ministry of Public Works, the World Bank, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UNMIL for the rehabilitation of some key roads in Lofa County, which he said will help the area “reconnect with the rest of Liberia.”