{"id":90054,"date":"2026-04-28T12:25:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T12:25:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads"},"modified":"2026-04-28T12:37:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T12:37:47","slug":"liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads","title":{"rendered":"Liberia Urges Urgent Continental Action on Roads"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>Liberia has urged African leaders and regional institutions to treat road infrastructure as a continental emergency, warning that Africa\u2019s prosperity depends on deliberate investment in transport connectivity.<\/p>\n

The appeal was made by Mrs. Joseta Neufville-Wento, Head of the National Road Fund, who represented Liberia at the 11th Edition of the Africa Road Builders Conference in Abidjan.<\/p>\n

Speaking on behalf of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, she emphasized that roads are central to Liberia\u2019s national development agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Boakai\u2019s development agenda is clear, roads are not secondary investments; they are central to economic transformation,\u201d Mrs. Wento told delegates.<\/p>\n

She noted that Liberia is strengthening financing mechanisms, improving institutional coordination, and renewing political commitment to build a sustainable road sector.<\/p>\n

Despite these efforts, Joseta revealed that only less than 15 percent of Liberia\u2019s national road network is paved, frowning that this deficit limits connectivity between counties, raises transport costs, and slows the movements of goods and people. Mrs. Wento stressed that this challenge reflects a wider African infrastructure crisis, citing her own journey to Abidjan which required transit through Ghana and Togo instead of a direct route from Liberia to Co\u0302te d\u2019Ivoire.<\/p>\n

Across Africa, more than half of the continent\u2019s roads remain unpaved, while transport costs are reported to be up to 75 percent above global averages. Poor infrastructure has contributed to intra-African trade stagnating below 20 percent, compared to more than 60 percent in Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n

Liberia called on ECOWAS and the African Union to prioritize road development, proposing measures such as regional corridors linking West to East and North to South, harmonized axle load controls, integrated tolling systems, stronger enforcement institutions, and coordinated political commitment.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfrica cannot afford incremental action,\u201d Mrs. Wento warned. \u201cWe cannot continue to discuss integration while our roads remain disconnected. We cannot speak of trade while transport systems remain inefficient.\u201d<\/p>\n

She urged African nations to act as one connected market where farmers, traders, and businesses can move goods and services across borders without delays or excessive costs. \u201cA farmer in Liberia should be able to move goods to markets in Co\u0302te d\u2019Ivoire without unnecessary delays. A trader in Ghana should reach Sierra Leone without excessive cost,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In one of the strongest remarks of her speech, she declared: \u201cAfrica\u2019s prosperity will not be negotiated in conference rooms; it will be constructed on our roads.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liberia\u2019s appeal comes at a time when the country is grappling with decades of underinvestment in infrastructure. Years of civil conflict and economic instability left much of the road network in disrepair, with rural communities often cut off from markets, schools, and health facilities. The government has since identified road construction and rehabilitation as a cornerstone of national recovery and growth.<\/p>\n

Regionally, Africa\u2019s infrastructure deficit has long been recognized as a barrier to development. The African Union\u2019s Agenda 2063 highlights transport connectivity as essential for achieving continental integration, yet progress has been slow. Funding gaps, weak enforcement, and fragmented policies have left many countries struggling to modernize their road systems.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Wento\u2019s intervention in Abidjan reflects Liberia\u2019s determination to place road infrastructure at the center of Africa\u2019s development debate. By calling for harmonized policies and coordinated financing, Liberia hopes to galvanize continental action that will reduce costs, boost trade, and connect economies.<\/p>\n

She concluded with a call for unity and deliberate action, stressing that Africa\u2019s prosperity will be built on its roads, not in conference rooms. \u201cThe future of Africa will not be built by chance; it will be built by choice. If we choose to invest deliberately, we will unlock trade. If we choose to connect our roads, we will connect our economies. If we choose to act together, we will rise together,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Liberia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. Liberia has urged African leaders and regional institutions to treat road infrastructure as a continental emergency, warning that Africa\u2019s prosperity depends on deliberate investment in transport connectivity. The appeal was made by Mrs. Joseta Neufville-Wento, Head of the National Road Fund, who represented Liberia at the 11th Edition of the Africa Road […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":90053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-90054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"\nLiberia Urges Urgent Continental Action on Roads - Liberia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Liberia has urged African leaders and regional institutions to treat road infrastructure as a continental emergency, war ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Liberia Urges Urgent Continental Action on Roads\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Liberia has urged African leaders and regional institutions to treat road infrastructure as a continental emergency, war ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Liberia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-28T12:25:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-28T12:37:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367058.222409.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1066\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Liberia Urges Urgent Continental Action on Roads\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-28T12:25:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-28T12:37:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads\"},\"wordCount\":646,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367058.222409.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Liberia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads\",\"name\":\"Liberia Urges Urgent Continental Action on Roads - Liberia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367058.222409.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-28T12:25:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-28T12:37:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Liberia has urged African leaders and regional institutions to treat road infrastructure as a continental emergency, war ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367058.222409.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367058.222409.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":1066,\"caption\":\"Liberia Urges Urgent Continental Action on Roads\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Liberia Urges Urgent Continental Action on Roads\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/\",\"name\":\"Liberia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Liberia Urges Urgent Continental Action on Roads - Liberia","description":"Liberia has urged African leaders and regional institutions to treat road infrastructure as a continental emergency, war ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Liberia Urges Urgent Continental Action on Roads","og_description":"Liberia has urged African leaders and regional institutions to treat road infrastructure as a continental emergency, war ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads","og_site_name":"Liberia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2026-04-28T12:25:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-28T12:37:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":1066,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367058.222409.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Liberia Urges Urgent Continental Action on Roads","datePublished":"2026-04-28T12:25:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-28T12:37:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads"},"wordCount":646,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367058.222409.jpg","keywords":["Liberia"],"articleSection":["all news","head lines","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads","name":"Liberia Urges Urgent Continental Action on Roads - Liberia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367058.222409.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-28T12:25:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-28T12:37:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Liberia has urged African leaders and regional institutions to treat road infrastructure as a continental emergency, war ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367058.222409.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1777367058.222409.jpg","width":1600,"height":1066,"caption":"Liberia Urges Urgent Continental Action on Roads"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-urges-urgent-continental-action-on-roads#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Liberia Urges Urgent Continental Action on Roads"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/","name":"Liberia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90054"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90085,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90054\/revisions\/90085"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}