Ibrahim Barrie, the Secretary-General of the Motor Drivers and General Transport Workers Union, at Peace Market Ferry Junction in the east of Freetown, has appealed to the Government of Sierra Leone to reopen the borders with Guinea. Speaking to Premier News on Tuesday, Barrie said that the border closure has caused joblessness among drivers, putting their sustenance into Jeopardy.
Barrie said that the membership of the Union used to be 150 drivers, but since the closure of the borders only a few have remained.
He said that they used to ply from Sierra Leone to Guinea and back, adding that over six months now they had not been able to work and that has affected them negatively and their families.
“We used to get our daily bread through plying from Freetown to Guinea, but since the borders were closed, we are finding it very difficult to survive and sustain our families. Some of our colleagues have left driving, and for some of us, we are still enduring the pain because we have no other means of earning a living. Over six months now we are only living by God’s grace and some of our good friends who usually assist us,” he laments.
He said that they used to contribute to the Central Executive of the Motor Drivers Union which forms a portion of the development of the national revenue, citing that they had not been contributing anymore since the closure of the borders. “There are certain developments that we usually do as drivers’ union, but we are no more doing because we are not operating,” he said.
He said that the Union has been in existence for over 40 years.
He called on the government, on behalf of the union, to open the borders to ease their problems as they are vulnerable people.
By Ibrahim S.Bangura
15/10/2020. ISSUE NO: 7931