By Joshua Nicol
There is no gainsaying that the Western Area of Sierra Leone is disaster prone. Little wonder that a few years ago – preceding the 2017 mudslide disaster – the state broadcaster and other radio stations, carried a Public Service Announcement on the need for Environmental Awareness.
The UN had categorized Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau and Bangladesh as the three countries most environmentally prone to disaster in the world. What a sobering verdict that should have galvanized the nation into action. But no! What did we do? As usual we made only lip service commitment whilst we continued to plunder the environment of its flora, never mind the fauna…they leave without saying good bye!
The second anniversary of the 14th of August Landslide Disaster at Mirimbo (now Matormeh) at Regent—looms on the horizon. That disaster once again gave Sierra Leone worldwide media coverage and prominence for all the wrong reasons; ater the 11-year senseless rebel war and the Ebola scourge.
The disaster left in its wake massive and unprecedented destruction to life and property—caused by man’s misuse of his environment—hundreds died and their bodies were found and buried; hundreds more were missing presumed buried under the rubble…with their remains popping up here and there, from time to time at Ground Zero.
For a disaster of such magnitude to have occurred—without any Public Inquiry into its causes – speaks volumes about the lack of public accountability in our public institutions and public officers manning them.
A Public Inquiry would have established how such an environmentally sensitive area was designated as suitable for human habitation; who allocated the land to the owners; who signed those land documents and the building permits, thereby allowing for the construction of those mansions that simply just vanished into thin air under the August deluge.
I visited Ground Zero with a group of students a few weeks ago. The magnitude of the disaster is still breathtaking, with boulders, rocks, concrete, iron rods, water pipes and electrical fittings all still strewn all over the place; indicating where those elegant mansions once majestically stood.
Indeed a Public Inquiry would have provided the answers, identified those public officers who are culpable; and made recommendations to avert any future disaster—thus bringing closure to the victims; both dead and alive. What a missed opportunity!
Let’s flash back to the year 1966 and the Welsh Village of Aberfan, outside Cardiff, near the coal mining town of Merthyr Tydfil. On the 21st October of that year a catastrophic collapse of a colliery heap occurred. The colliery heap was created on a mountain slope, with a natural spring. Below the coal mountain was the village school.
A period of heavy rains led to a build-up of water within the colliery heap, which caused it to suddenly slide down the slope, engulfing the school and other adjacent buildings. Regarded as Britain’s worst landslide (Coalslide) disaster, it killed 116 children and 28 adults. In the aftermath of the Aberfan Disaster a Public Inquiry was established to inquire into its causes and circumstances.
Lord Justice Edmund Davies’ Report squarely put the blame for the disaster on the National Coal Board; and identified nine staff members as being culpable. After a lengthy battle between the Welsh citizenry and the National Coal Board, the remaining six Coal mountains were cleared. New regulations were also established in order to prevent any potential disaster.
One of the legacies of the Aberfan Disaster is that vehicles plying the route between Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil slow down on reaching the disaster zone. There’s an eerie silence in the area as if there is a funeral procession. All in respect for the dead. The disaster site has also been memorialized…with a Memorial Garden.
Why the detour to South Wales, you may ask. Both disasters were caused by Public Servants who neglected their call to duty and who were supposed to ensure that regulatory standards were adhered to.
While there was closure for the victims of the Aberfan disaster through the findings and recommendations of the Justice Edmund Davies’ Inquiry, the victims of Matormeh were not that privileged. Instead we were treated to the grandstanding and the shedding of crocodile tears by the political elite. Two years on; survivors are still left with their traumatic scars; soothing away their pain and sorrow, with alcohol and tobacco.
Our predicament as a nation is aptly expressed in the General Confession, found in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer: “We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things, which we ought not to have done. And there is no health in us.
The activities of Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyer of Freetown in mitigating flood disasters within the municipality could be likened to treating the symptoms of a disease rather than addressing its causes. The clearance and de-silting of drainages and gutters in flood-prone communities cannot be the answer to the problems of flooding in the capital city. Such efforts, though commendable, could just be a vicious cycle benefitting those contracted to undertake the job.
The planting of trees on a massive scale on the mountain slopes and hills above Freetown is a viable option. Just last week we heard on the BBC that the government and people of Ethiopia succeeded in planting 350 million trees in just 12 hours. Their target is a mammoth 5 billion trees by next year. With the necessary political will we could emulate our Ethiopian brethren.
There is also the issue of law enforcement. A Green belt established above Freetown prohibits the construction of houses above the 500 Contour line (500 feet above sea level) and 100 feet from the high watermark along the foreshore.
The need also exists to address the thorny issue of land-grabbing around the Western Area. Mostly self-proclaimed community leaders ply their trade in concert with certain unscrupulous surveyors and lawyers who would produce the surveyed land plans and the signed and registered conveyances respectively, without due diligence. All for a sizeable portion of the land.
Unless and until we, as a nation, resolved and were ready to enforce our national laws without fear or favour, we would always be wary in welcoming our august guest in August.
The issue of the existence of Kroo Bay comes into sharp focus against the backdrop of last Friday’s heavy downpour that rendered various parts of the Western Area (Rural and Urban) no-go areas.
Launching the 2010 or 2011 Annual Report of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone at Kroo Bay, the then head of the Anti-Corruption Commission, Abdul Tejan-Cole quipped: “The existence of Kroo Bay is a scar on our collective conscience as a nation”.
And as Cato declared during the run-up to the Third Punic War (149-146 BC); Delenda est Cathago (Cathage Must be Destroyed). So also Kroo Bay must be destroyed, I dare say.
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