By Septimus Senessie in Kono
Chairman motor drivers’ union in Kono says despite efforts by SALCOST to patch up the 70-kilometre stretch of road between Matotoka and Yeyie, government bus services to the district have been terminated.
Ali Musa told Politico that “transportation services have been suspended indefinitely, leaving hundreds of passengers in a precarious situation in the district”, which used to be the breadbasket of Sierra Leone.
He said the effects of the suspension, which had lasted for almost two months, were only minimised in the last two weeks when Mellian Tours partly resumed its services.
He agreed that the roads were terrible, noting that the most dangerous was the remaining 50 kilometres of road between Yeyie and Koidu town.
Also a passenger travelling to Freetown from Koidu told Politico at the Koakoyima Lorry Park that the only means in and out of the district was through commercial motor bike service “which is a huge sacrifice and a gamble on our lives.”
Sia Fanta Sandi said the development had caused transport fares on commercial motorbikes to Makeni to soar from Le 40,000 and Le 45,000 whilst passengers on ‘podapoda’ pay between Le 30,000 and Le 35,000 for a journey lasting at least four hours.
She appealed to government to immediately address the situation, describing the bad road network in the district headquarter town of Koidu as “appalling”.
Speaking to Politico on the phone from Freetown, the operations officer at the Sierra Leone Road Transport Corporation (SLRTC), Tamba Rodney Kaimachiende, confirmed thus: “We have suspended our bus services to Kono because the road conditions to the district have worsened in the past months.”
He said they incurred huge losses to Kono district, adding that one of their buses had its engine contracted by mud and water collected in a ditch along the road. He assured that they would resume operations to Kono district during the dries.
