By Septimus Senessie in Kono
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works, Housing and Infrastructure has told the people of the eastern Sierra Leone district of Kono that his ministry is “seriously disappointed” by Well Guico formerly Well Group Serra Leone Limited, in charge of the reconstruction of the 20-kilometer road in the district headquarter town of Koidu.
Augustine Sahr Sheku says the company has not done “enough” on the road work after almost two years since the contract was awarded.
Sheku was addressing staff of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA) in Koidu amid a two-week-long sit-down strike by workers of the company protesting against the management of Well Group Sierra Leone Ltd. They allege a delay in the payment of their salaries for March and a deduction from the salaries of some junior workers.
He said the government of Sierra Leone had made an initial disbursement of funds to the company to the tune of over le 24 billion to help fast track the road reconstruction work. He assured that he would summon an emergency meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Works and staff of SLRA to recommend the termination of the contract with Well Guico for the road reconstruction work, adding that they “do not have the capacity to do the 20-kilometer road in Koidu”.
The PS noted that they were no longer going to reverse their position for the termination of the contract given that “the ministry has given them so many chances to mobilize properly and put their house in order but it is clear to us that they are not ready to do anything even if we give them donkey period.”
Earlier, one of the laborers working for Well Guico, Mohamed Koroma told Politico that they were on an indefinite sit-down strike for their back-log salaries and for the alleged deduction “without good reasons”. He said they had vowed not to resume work until their demands for their salaries were met by the company’s administration. Meanwhile, several attempts by Politico to talk to the management of the company proved futile.
