Frequent breakdowns and the high incidence of the ferries going aground or drifting into the Atlantic Ocean, have made passengers plying the Freetown-Tagrin route very wary about their safety, causing them to blame management of the ferry services.
The General Manager of the Great Scarcis ferry and the Mahera Company, Alusine Daramy, told Premier News on Monday February 22, 2021 that, they should be squarely blamed for such happenings.
He said that high maintenance cost and spare parts, dirt from the Kissy dumpsite and low fare have affected the operations of the company contributing to the scaling down of ferry schedules.
Daramy stated that wastes from the Kissy dump are dislodged into the sea during the rainy season, and this made it difficult for ferries to berth during the dry season.
He said that before now, with the support of World Bank and Port authorities, they dredged the mud from the sea, but this is no longer possible because it is expensive.
He said, “Without the intervention of the World Bank and the Port authorities, we cannot undertake dredging because it is expensive, and we lack tools and expertise.” “We don’t have the equipment and people who are specialized in the area. We used to hire them from other nations.”
He further explained that maintenance cost is also affected their operations, adding that they usually pay for the days vessel spends at the maintenance dock. “We sometimes spend Le 300 million for two to three days maintenance,” he said. He appealed to the authorities in charge to reduce maintenance cost so that they could have many vessels maintenance so that they could provide reliable service to the populace.
“If maintenance cost is affordable, we can provide better services to the general public. They should not compare the ferries to fishing vessels because ferries carry lives and property. For us to keep the vessels running effectively the maintenance cost must be reduced,” he said.
Daramy revealed that the fare they charge is not enough to keep the ferries running. He said, “We are serving the public, traders, and the grassroots. We are seeing the government rendering services to people to boost businesses but they are not extending any support to the ferry services.” “We need government support to keep the ferries running. We also need a soft loan from the government.”
By Ibrahim S.Bangura
02/03/2021. ISSUE NO: 8012