CAPE MOUNT COUNTY, LIBERIA-Recent agreement signed between the people of Tosor and the SSF Construction Company is said to have backfired.

In May this year, the citizens signed a twelve-year agreement that will see the SSF blast and extract lateral rocks from the Warkolo Mountain Forest to pave a 44 kilometer road from Robertsport to Medina Junction.

The villagers had hoped the agreement will improve road infrastructure, thereby increasing commercial activity for their communities, ending decades of frustration over underdevelopment.

But the deal has since backfired, stirring anger and confusion among the people of Tosor, with locals fearing that its implementation would lead to disaster for the community.

The Warkolo Mountain Forest is an internationally recognized biodiversity hotspot, overlooking Tosor and Robertsport in Grand Cape Mount County.

Experts say choosing the protected area for lateral rocks extraction poses danger to the environment, and could make surrounding communities vulnerable to flooding and other disasters.