By Mabinty M. Kamara in Kono
After several deaths by drowning in Bafin River, the National Commission for Social Action (NACSA) with funding support from the German Financial Corporation through KfW Development Bank is constructing a 65 meter long and 4 meter wide bridge at the Koakor crossing point in Gbense Chiefdom Kono district.
According to residents of the area, when completed, the bridge will link the three districts of Kono, Kabala and Falaba through Sandor Chiefdom in Kono, making trade and movement of people in those areas easy and safe.
The Rev. Sahr Komba, 65 said he was happy to be alive to witness the construction of a bridge over the Bafin river, noting that it does not only have economic benefit to the communities it will connect, but that it will save the lives of many road users.
According to him, all through his time in the community crossing that river has been a source of concern and worry to the people saying that the road is a busy one and that there is no way they could avoid it and so their forefathers used locally made boats to cross the river for their various activities.
“The scary aspect of it is especially in the rainy season. Parents are always worried about their children when they cross over to schools in the other communities. Sometimes the boat capsizes and we have one or more people drowning, sometimes there are no survivors. Those days were sad for all the communities around here,” he said, while applauding the government and its development partners for thinking about them and addressing their age-old problem.
Another community resident Theresa Demba, a business woman said they started celebrating and thanking their stars right from the day the bridge was commissioned, “thinking about the atrocities that this river has caused us.” She said it was in 2022 that they finally thought of building a wooden bridge over the river after several drowning incidents so that people can cross over without using the boats “Unfortunately for us again that year, the wooden bridge collapsed in the middle of the rainy season taking us back to the dark and sad days when you will come to this crossing point with only the thoughts of your drowning. But through the support of our local authorities, we were able to reconstruct a stronger wooden bridge again on which even motorbikes can ride safely before we heard of the NACSA project.”
Theresa added: “During the rainy season when the tide is heavy and the water level high, most people do not leave their children to school and those who risk it will all come here after school hours crying and wailing with Lifeguards around waiting for any incident until all the children cross safely. This bridge is a blessing that we will forever live to be grateful for to the government for.”
A Commercial Motor bike rider applauded the government and its partners for such development in that particular area, describing it as life-saving. “We are just risking even to pass through that bridge (Wooden). I lost my friend after drowning in this river and at this crossing point. So each time that I am here, thoughts of his death come to my mind. I pray that God almighty continues to provide for them and keep the workers safe so that they can complete the project as they have started. But we really want it done fast. It also means that we will make money out of our business as transporters because as it is now, not everybody can venture to be on a bike and cross here.”
The Project Engineer Mohamed Fofanah of the Interlinks Sierra Leone Limited said the project which commenced in February of 2023 was to have been completed in one year and six months’ time but that there was flash flooding during the last rainy season which affected the pace of the work. He said that when completed the bridge is expected to last for over five decades.
The much awaited and celebrated bridge is in an advanced stage of completion and the people from both Falaba and Kono districts that Politico spoke to could not wait for its completion. Currently, to access Falaba and Kabala districts without using the Koakor crossing point, commuters pass through Koidu a distance that the people described to be very far and expensive compared to using the route in Koakor.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (20/05/24)
