By: Shallon S. Gonlor | shallonsgonlor@gmail.com
NIMBA COUNTY, Liberia — For the first time in decades, residents of Sehyikimpa Town in Nimba County’s Electoral District #2 are celebrating reliable, high-grade electricity and an all-paved road.
The infrastructure upgrades are reshaping a community that has long struggled with underdevelopment.
Sehyikimpa, a growing rural town along the Sanniquellie–Yekepa corridor, is undergoing rapid modernization. The town is now connected to rural electrification under the CLSG Rural Electrification Project, bringing stable power to homes, and businesses that previously relied on Chinese lamps.
New shops and entertainment centers are opening, and more businesses continue to emerge. Property values are rising as access improves, and young people who once left for work elsewhere are reconsidering opportunities at home. Business owners report higher sales, driven by increased customer traffic and growing cross-border trade. With easier access to the Loguatuo Port of Entry, traders traveling between Liberia and neighboring Ivory Coast now stop in Sehyikimpa to buy and sell.
Marketers noted that customer traffic has doubled since the road and electricity projects were completed.
They said, earlier by 6 p.m. the town experienced darkness, but now, businesses stay open, running into midnight till 1-12:am due to the new road and electricity. Joseph Seigon, a young entrepreneur who sells mobile phone credit, says the new infrastructure is helping him serve more customers and process transactions faster, especially at night.
“Sometimes I generate LRD 2,000 to 2,500 during the night,” Joseph said. He expressed excitement about seeing rural electrification and a paved road reach his hometown of Sehyikimpa. Joseph thanked the Government of Liberia and its partners for the infrastructure development.
He is now appealing for financial assistance to expand his mobile credit business into a full Mobile Money bureau. Ophelia, a local vendor who sells meat pepper soup, says she now operates full-time from day until late at night, sometimes up to 12 a.m., generating about LRD$ 4,000 to 5,000 daily.
She stressed that the new electricity and road have brought real economic benefits by drawing more customers to her food stand. “Before, I used Chinese lamps to sell, but now the electricity has reduced my expenses and helped me save my little income,” Ophelia said. She added that she feels overjoyed with the wave of life-changing development and extended her heartfelt gratitude to the Boakai-Koung administration.
Patricia and Rita Gborgee, local petty traders, emphasized that the new infrastructure is eye-opening for residents and visitors alike. They said it is building stronger community relationships and laying the groundwork for future economic expansion.
Elder Nyah Doleh Geawah lauded President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s administration for fulfilling the long-time dream of Sehyikimpa residents: access to a reliable road and stable rural electrification. He described it as “reality.”
“For far too long, this community has suffered from the lack of major infrastructure needed to boost the local economy and drive growth,” Elder Geawah said. “We suffered in darkness for too long. Now we see development with our own eyes.” He expressed frustration with the former ruling party, the CDC, for failing to connect the town with a road and electricity. “I don’t feel happy that a sitting government could fail to complete 45 kilometers of road in six years,” he said.
According to Elder Geawah, he and the people of Sehyikimpa are now feeling and seeing the impact of the Boakai-Koung administration. Students are also benefiting, using the new electricity for extended study hours. The improved road network has been equally transformative. What was once a difficult, often impassable route is now an accessible link to major commercial hubs.
Sehyikimpa has also been selected as the site for the new Sanniquellie General Market, positioning it as a future trade center for the town. In a major boost to healthcare access, the town has been chosen as the relocation site for the G.W. Harley Hospital project — a critical facility serving all of Nimba County.
