Many citizens who spoke to nightwatch have expressed grave concerns around the indiscriminate and early movement of deadly and exposed container vehicles into various areas of the Central Business Districts around peak hours when people are making their way to their homes after fending for their families.
Mr. Ansumana Kallon was furious when he has to take several hours in a very long traffic queues as early 8 pm just because a Lebanese container was offloading goods at Garrison Street in Freetown.
He expressed his disappointment that the Sierra Leone Police has reversed the normal eleven o’clock which was instituted for the movement of container vehicles by AIG Memuna Conteh and many other Police Commanders who have managed the Police East Region.
Mr. Kallon has accused the current Police administration for seeking more to protect Lebanese and other foreign interest against their people who are exposed to this container menace.
A poor trader who lost his brother from a container accident some few years ago at Abacha Street has bemoaned the callousness of the Police over its citizens by allowing very heavy and exposed container vehicles to ply alongside peak hours with innocent and defenceless citizens.
Fatal Accidents by various container vehicles in Freetown’s congested Central Business District involing various Sierra Leoneans and foreign nationals is not new in Freetown. These accidents have left many wounded and some orphans.
The Police have merely moved timings for the movement of vehicles into the CBD from eleven o’clock to peak hours (8 to 9pm) merely due to strong influences from Lebanese and other Fullah businessmen leaving drivers and pedestrians to meander their way through untied, heavy and exposed containers driven by careless and reckless drivers who have no consideration for other road users.
Many citizens have called on the Police to reverse to the eleven clock period as adequate enough to allow containers to move into the Central Business District thereby allowing for a situation when many citizens would have gone home.
The current madness in which trucks loads of Cement, rice and other container vehicles disrupt the normal flow of traffic around Cline Town is very much unacceptable and the Police high command at Police East Region should not wait to be told that the interest of citizens against foreign importers is at stake here.
We are off late witnessing a very rowdy traffic arrangement in the east of Freetown thereby causing unnecessary traffic build-ups for citizens plying between Cline Town through to Calaba Town.
We will closely follow-up this issue with a view to ensure that something sensible happens.
If AIG Memuna and other Police Commanders have ensured sanity in the movement of containers due to their experiences in the past where Sierra Leoneans have lost lives why not present Police Commanders at Ross Road.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs should also be seen playing a critical role here where common sense and direction has failed from the Sierra Leone Police.
We are at least expecting a New Direction where the interests of the people supersede that of foreign business interests.The level of disorderly and rowdy traffic arrangements in the CBD begs a question of whether we have people who are in charge of law and order.The Ministry should step in and provide the requisite political will to get our CBD cleared to safety.Paolo Conteh did it with this same Police and why not now.
Provide adequate security for the movement and offloading of containers and reversed the time to eleven o’clock. Lonta.