By Septimus Senessie in Kono
The Coordinator of a civil society organization based in the eastern Kono District has strongly challenged the construction company Well-Guico of “inability and recklessness” in doing the 20-kilometre road construction in Koidu. Well- Guico is a joint enterprise between Well Group Sierra Leone Ltd and Groupe Well Guico Press from Guinea. It came into being after the former had lost partnership with their Russian counterparts. Berns Komba Lebbie of Leadership Efficiency and Advocacy for Development-Sierra Leone (LEAD-S/L) accused the company while addressing newsmen “on the snail pace of the 20km road work” after the company stopped work for almost one week owing to the “lack of fuel”. He said the effectiveness shown in the first two weeks by Well-Guico had “drastically dropped” adding that the spreading of laterite on Kainkordu Road had been halted leaving the people of Kono in a “precarious state”. Lebbie recalled that in January after Well Guico had taken over the construction work, they were assured by the personnel manager of the company, Bah Cherinoh Osman that “they will start the tarmac work on the Main Kainkordu Road in February to be completed in April”. He said they have not seen any sign of seriousness in effecting that assurance. He claimed that in their recent tour conducted at the company’s works yard and the quarry site at Sagbe village in Nimikoro chiefdom they found out that “ equipment like crusher, tar mixer and compactor were not on the ground,” maintaining that no tarmac work could be done without them this equipment. The civil society activist added that the only crusher they saw at the works yard was a mobile one which “is only meant for resizing crushed stones”, adding that there was no assurance that tarring would happen in the next 7-months especially in view of the onset of the rainy season. The chairman of Traders’ Union, William D. Sesay and that of the Motor Drivers and General Transport Workers’ Union, Samuel Nyuma also expressed dismay over the “snail pace” of the road work and the delay in awarding contract for the rehabilitation of the Kono/Matotoka road, describing it as “a big disappointment” to their trades. “When the roads are bad, it is trade and transport that suffer the most” Sesay said. He described as bogus and mocking reports attributed to the deputy minister of works during a recent visit to Kono that “the Koidu city work was impressing and perfect”. He called on the government to look properly into the Kono Road works and treat it “with all seriousness”. Responding to the allegations, the Finance Manager of Well-Guico, Mohamed Kourouma told Politico that they had all that was required to do the 20 km roads in Koidu denying that they lacked equipment to carry out the work. He said that few days ago they had brought two compactors meant for compacting ball stones and tar.
