Despite the euphoria generated by SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) Government about the construction of a bridge between the northern town of Lungi and Freetown, the project has however seemed to have died in the waters.
The bridge project which was initially estimated at US$2.1bn was one of the most ambitious projects when President Julius Maada Bio was officially installed as President in 2018. Government justified the need for the project on the enhancement of movement of people and goods from Lungi to Freetown and vice versa. Trade and commerce, govern said, between the two communities would be improved.
It is hoped that enhanced movement of goods and services will reflect on the national economy. Young men and women were thrilled for words when news of the Lungi bridge construction greeted them. They hoped to benefit a lot especially from jobs.
Officials at State House have always informed Sierra Leoneans that the project would create 5, 000 jobs for the youth. A bell for an economic fall has been sounded much louder.
The people of Sierra Leone were convinced about the project when State House played host to purported investors of the project. In a meeting at State House, in 2019, Head of Infrastructure at State House, John Tambie made it clear that the Lungi Project was highly relevant to “the land that we love.”
Hopes and expectations were very high among Sierra Leoneans as they know quite well that once the bridge is in, they are free from dangers of the sea.
But, many Sierra Leones are not sure about the bridge construction owing to the countless, unfulfilled promises of Bio’s government. Others however repose confidence in Dr Tambie owing to his rich credentials in engineering and aeronautics.
If implemented, the project would benefit coastal communities in Freetown as a 6-lane highway would be passed there. Relocation and compensation schemes by investors would add incomes of riverine residents.
Tambie also informed Sierra Leoneans that the bridge would be constructed on a toll system as it was done along the Freetown-Masiaka highway by the past government. The investors would get back their money they invest from money paid by passengers.
The highest point of the occasion was the deliberations for business that took place between Mr Tambie and the investors which went on for hours. The outcome of the investment conference was not communicated outside the walls of State House, but assurances were clear that the project would come to fruition.
But many people were stunned when no work began close to a year after the investors left. A source at State House intimated this press that it would be difficult for the Lungi Bridge to materialise owing to the huge sum that involved.
He said feasibility conducted at the initial stage indicates that it would be difficult for investors to get back their money within a short period. Commercial activities between Lungi and Freetown are not viable to put back the money invested in the pockets of investors quickly.
The political tension, at the time, which has negative implication on the security of the state should not be forgotten as another factors that would have scared the investors away. With these factors put together, the project moved at a snail pace.
The youth had already forgotten about the project when government came up with fresh assurance last year that the project would be back on track. Another State House press release assured the people of Sierra Leone that the initial sum that should go into the project had been lowered from US$2.1 to US$1.1bn.It also sates that investors were ready to restart their negotiations with government.
Owing to government’s new promise, the youth’s hope was reawakened. They eagerly wait for better days. After a year in waiting, news about the project also faded. The hopeful youth became hopeless.
Talks about the bridge are yet to resurface in 2022. It is now clear to almost every Sierra Leoneans that the project will not work as the sun is slowly sets on Bio. President Bio stopped several projects left behind by the past government for the actualisation of the bridge project.
One of the projects SLPP halted was the Mamamah International Airport which would have bolstered the toll road system between Freetown and Masiaka. Many Sierra Leoneans who spoke in the voices of humble and patriotic Sierra Leoneans have expressed their anger about the cancellation of the project.
A popular argument holds that government would have earned more finances from the toll road if the airport project had gone ahead. Government is entitled to 5% of income generated out of the toll road operations.
This press has learned that government is now getting 10% of the toll road shares. What would have been their income level if the Mamamah Project had been sustained?
More vehicles on the highway means more revenue for government coffers, President Maada Bio has failed to capitalise on a foundation his predecessor, Ernest Bai Koroma had built.
Bio was quite hopeful of the bridge’s construction would have added feather to his cap. His popularity would have gone beyond borders. The bridge would have overshadowed his failings in several sectors of the economy.
Most of the promises Bio made to the people of Sierra Leone has not come to pass except the Free Education scheme. The education project too is fraught with several challenges that made its declaration meaningless. With the actualisation of the Lungi Bridge, Bio was sure to recover.
But, media reports are never in agreement with the President as they state that the construction of a Lungi bridge would not save SLPP from sinking deep. A reliable source within SLPP has also intimated this press that this is not the first time SLPP is reneging on the bridge project.
He said Tejan Kabba of the ages promised to construct the bridge when he became President in 1996. He too went away without the bridge despite strong assurances. The lie about the bridge is a deciding factor responsible for SLPP’s defeat in 2007.
This is not the only Project SLPP has failed to implement since it came to power. Government has failed in a number of projects particularly the sub-marine cable which would have also tremendously benefitted the people of Sierra Leone. SLPP failings have been attributed to its lack of inclusive governance from the onset.
President Bio’s assumption of power in 2018 for many Sierra Leoneans would have been a platform to launder his image after he was accused of masterminding coups and extra-judicial killings in 1992 during NPRC (national Provisional Ruling Council) days.
Bio’s government had the semblance of a military rule from start to finish. He did not lend leaves from the books of his predecessors, Tejan Kabba and Ernest Bai Koroma. The two employed models of governing a post-conflict state to ensure that the peace is maintained in the interest of all.
Kabba who took Sierra Leone to the negotiating table in the Togolese capital of Lome, 1999 ruled according to recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), a body set up in 2002. TRC was tasked to look into the causes of the war and proffer recommendations to that prevent another war.
One of the key recommendations was to ensure a government in which all regions and districts in Sierra Leone are represented.To ensure that Sierra Leone did not slide into another all-out conflict, President Kabba put in place a broad base government of national unity seen especially in the appointment of leaders of RUF (Revolutionary United Front), a movement that masterminded the war in Sierra Leone between 1991 and 2002. The appointment was done to the annoyance of many Sierra Leoneans. Former President Koroma also trod on the same path. He worked with ministers left behind by his predecessor for three months with full pay. He allowed several south-easterners to hold key posts in his government.
He even appointed members of PMDC (People’s Movement for Democratic Change), a party founded by a southerner, Charles Francis Margai.
Bio deviated from this path of his predecessors, a situation that caused his failure in almost everything he does. Bio fails to unite the country making his promise of national cohesion as one of the biggest political rhetorics. Without unity, Bio lost the people’s trust and nothing works without trust.