The attention of the Minister of Works and Public Assets and the Management of Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA) is drawn to the deteriorating condition of the all-important trade and agricultural road leading from Koribondo in Bo district to Sahn Malen in Pujehun district that hosts the multi-million dollars Socfin Agricultural Company’s oil palm plantation and processing mill – the largest such private sector investment in not only Sierra Leone but the entire African continent.
Reports are that the failure of the SLRA hired contractor to repair the road in a timely manner is tantamount to economic sabotage.
The importance of the Koribondo Road cannot be overemphasized as the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) benefits hugely from proceeds coming from the two companies that use the Koribondo Road to Sahn Malen and other chiefdoms.
The road not only links Sahn Malen and other chiefdoms in Pujehun and Bo districts and the rest of the country, it is also an important trade link and huge revenue earner for government.
The frustration of the many stakeholders that use the road on a daily basis for many economic and social purposes is that the repair which should have taken less than six to seven weeks has taken over six months with no one in authority questioning the contractor for the slow pace on the work.
The effect of this negligence is that travel time has not only increased but is causing heavy wear, tie and damage to vehicles carrying goods and passengers, especially to Socfin tankers conveying processed oil palm to factories in Freetown and for export.
It could be recalled that in pursuit of opening up the economy to new investment opportunities, one of President Julius Maada Bio’s promises in his New Direction manifesto was to ensure he opens up the country through inter-district transport, thereby creating the enabling environment for traders to transport their wares from one district to another.
Frustrated drivers that spoke to this press decried the slow pace at which the contractor that is accused of failing to comply with the terms and conditions of the contract’s timeline.
Stakeholders are thus calling on SLRA to urge the contractor to speed up maintenance of the Koribondo to Sahn-Malen chiefdom road that includes fixing culverts for heavy duty trucks as one of the largest companies in Sierra Leone is unable to use the road to transport their products from one location to another thereby depriving the government of much needed revenue.
Traders who use the road on a daily basis also deplore the slow pace of the contractor to finish the road which they said has exponentially caused an increase in transport fares to and from Bo city where they purchase their wares and take their agricultural products to for sale.
Reports are that commercial drivers have to brave it to use the deplorable road via Pujehun Township to and from Koribondo. Heavy duty truck drivers maintain it is risky and dangerous to ply the road leading to Pujehun Township as they encounter accidents due to the deplorable condition of the road.
“We are calling on the Government through the Ministry of Works and Public Assets and the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA) to urgently finish the work that will bring a sigh of relief for residents in Pujehun district,” said the commercial drivers.
They called on the contractor to come out clean and explain to Sierra Leoneans why the slow pace of the work.
An angry truck driver opined that the SLRA contractor is sabotaging and frustrating the economics of Socfin Agricultural Company and Dole Pineapple in Sumbuya whose vehicles have incurred serious mechanical problems due to the terrible road condition in the district.
Both Socfin and Dole vehicles continue to have preventable and avoidable accidents due to the non-compliance of the contractor to finish the Koribondo road that leads to Sahn Malen and other chiefdoms in the district. Many have stated that officials of the SLRA award contracts to contractors that are not competent in roads construction.
They therefore call on President Julius Maada Bio through the Ministry of Works and Public Assets to monitor the performance of contractors in the provinces that are awarded road construction contracts.
The government through SLRA should urgently do the needful as there is a complete cutoff for one of the biggest companies in the country that is unable to use the Pujehun route due to its terrible condition.
The SLRA contractor has spent over ninety days in constructing culverts without making any alternative routes for vehicles to ply. Traders living within those areas are now paying excess to commercial drivers due to the non-compliance of the contractor to finish the work.
Many commercial drivers and bike riders are charging poor exorbitantly traders and travelers who frequently travel to Bo and other areas within the Southern Region.
The deliberate attempt by the contractor to create bypass routes for vehicles to ply is a big time saboteur to the government as the so-called contractor knows very well that both Dole and Socfin use that route to transport their products.
Traders urged the government through the Ministry of Works to speedily do something as their goods continue to perish due to the cutoff between Koribondo and other chiefdoms in Pujehun and Bo districts.
“The transport fares we pay from Sahn Malen to Bo have increased uncontrollably,” they said.
The drivers complain that the cutoff and the ineptitude of the contractor to create bypass is the major increment of transportation.
Commercial drivers and Okada riders have to ply through Pujehun to reach Bo which consumes more fuel with the awful condition of the road leading to Pujehun Township a ‘pain in the arse’ for drivers who have to visit mechanics on a daily basis.
Poor traders are feeling the pinch due to the inability of the contractor who, according to our information, has abandoned the work to chase other contracts across the country.
The government and SLRA should urgently fix that all-important road in putting the necessary pressure of the contractor to hurry and fix the road.
Suppliers of both Socfin and Dole desperately want the road to be repaired as its poor condition has adverse effects on them as they have to pay monthly salaries to workers and without the smooth flow of their supplies from Freetown to the provinces, they will be unable to pay workers.
The slow pace of the work also is creating huge loss to the government because containers cannot reach the port for export to earn much needed foreign currency the country needs to move the country forward.
Meanwhile, there is a huge cry for SLRA to blacklist the so-called contractor for failing to complete the work according to the terms and conditions given to him by the Ministry of Works and Public Assets and SLRA.
