By Sallieu S. Kanu
President Dr Julius Maada Bio has officially launched the reconstruction of the Kabala – Krubola – Kono Road Project (261km).
The event was held in Dogolia Town, Koinadugu District, north of Sierra Leone. It was graced with fanfare by stakeholders, descendants and residents of Koinadugu and Falaba districts.
In his keynote adding before officially launching the project, President Bio said his government has decided to reconstruct that road because it wants to connect the two districts and ease the movements of people and goods in and out of the districts.
“I have been here before and I know how difficult it was to travel this route. That is why I said that if we really cared about the people of Koinadugu and Falaba districts, we should construct this road,” he said.
He was amazed at the sizes of onions that were presented to him as gift from the Koinadugu women farmers, and stated that their product was a demonstration that they have the ability to do more if they were supported and had easier access to market.
The Minister of Works and Public Assets, Mr. Peter Bayuku Konteh, said as a government they are always concerned about value for money, quality and timely delivery of service whenever they are awarding contracts.
The Director General of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority, Ing. Amara Jambai Kanneh said the award of contract to Pavi Fort Al Associate was a show of commitment to the implementation of Local Content Policy. “The bulk of the money that we are paying the contractor will be spent here, and they are also employing the locals,” he explained.
He reassured the president and stakeholders of the supervising role of SLRA to ensure that the works will be done within the specified time and the quality will be assured.
For the people of Koinadugu and Falaba districts, the launch of the road project marks the solution to their decades of struggle due to poor read network.
The Paramount Chief of Dembelia Mosaia Chiefdom, Sorie Jawara lamented that the road project was one of the greatest developments that generations before them had prayed for, and the current generation has witnessed.
PC Jawara stated that a paved road will influence other development projects, including the establishment of international market which will be beneficial to the two districts and country in general.
The Chief Executive Officer of Pavi Fort, Mr. Alimu Barrie, expressed the commitment of his company to ensure that the road works will be done within the specified period.
The Kabala – Krubola – Kono Road Project will be implemented in four phases. The first phase, Kabala to Limbaya Junction (61km), is expected to be completed in 2025 and the other phases will be subsequently constructed.