Remi Olumuyiwa, Executive Chairman First Tricon
The question on the lips of many Sierra Leoneans is whether it was prudent for the President to have given the First Tricon Construction Company the Bo- Mattru Road project. The 78.9 km road project cost US$ 72 million and is funded by the Government of Sierra Leone. It is the first phase of a total of 182 km roads including the Moyamba, Shenge and Pujehun Gbondapi roads.
These doubts are prompted by the inability of the Company to complete a number of very important Road Projects that have been awarded to them over the last ten years and such include: the rehabilitation of the Blama and Hangha Road project and the 25 Kilometer Bandajuma-Pujehun road project which cost a whooping amount of Le 8,554,237.92 and USD 21,715,746.40 respectively.
Both projects according to a survey report recently released by Road For Development Consortium,a coalition of civil society organizations working on the road sector had described both road projects (Blama –Hangha roads & Bandajuma Pujehun) to have been implemented at a very snail pace.
First Tricon according to the report has only completed the 11.4 Kilometer Tiaima-Junction, Njala Mokondeh road which cost a total sum of USD 8,816,124.81.The standard of this road has been questioned by many road engineers who disclosed that the durability of such a road is very much doubtful.
How could a President who is in a hurry to get the Bo- Mattru Road quickly fixed award such an economically viable Project to one of the most underperforming construction companies in the country leaving out highly standard and internationally acclaimed companies like the CSE, Saliene Construction and CRSG construction companies to name but a few who have stayed long in the country and had equally constructed a number of high quality roads. It is no secret that when you want very timely works the Chinese are the answer no matter whatever other issues you would want to associate with the them.
We should not compromise quality for the sake of local content as this was what the APC government had used to award a substantial number of the road contracts in the country to the likes of Gento, Davenport and others. Such road contracts which have been characterised with huge kickbacks to APC government officials are either being abandoned today or poorly done.
Whosever must have advised the President to give this contract to First Tricon Construction Company could have taken into considerations personal gains and not the interest of the Southerners who had long desired for quality roads. Although we have seen attempts by First Tricon to immediately mobilize to the project site and also engage in bush clearing and other earthworks these first actions by Road Construction companies are not new to us.
The New Direction is very much aware of what had obtained with road construction projects in the country. It is expected that there should have been a shift from the old order.
We intend to conduct further investigations on whether the government of Sierra Leone has followed procurement procedures in the award of the contract to First Tricon Construction Company.