Residents in Bramaia, a chiefdom in Kambia district in the north of Serra Leone, have recently said that due to poor road network in the chiefdom there are frequent road accidents, scarcity of food stuff and fall in trade thus negatively affecting their livelihood in the chiefdom.
Abdulai Dumbuya, a stakeholder in the chiefdom, said that the road condition worsens in the rainy season. He said that drivers refuse to go to the chiefdom to avoid road crash which is frequent there as a result of the poor road network.
He said that, accident used to occur in the chiefdom regularly that usually lead to many loss of lives and property.
Dumbuya said, “In a road accident, in May this year two people lost their lives and many were injured and taken to a health Centre at Madina in the neighboring chiefdom of Tonko Limba.
He furthered that there was also a scarcity of food supply in the chiefdom, which he said has affected most vulnerable people there.
Dumbuya explained that, the chiefdom used to get food supply from other parts of the country, but was no longer getting any because people are afraid to come to the Chiefdom as a result of the poor conditions of their roads.
He said that the Bramaia is a centre of Agriculture, and after harvesting, they could not transport their produce to markets in the cities.
He called on the government, NGOs, and other humanitarians’ organization to help improve the chiefdom network in order to improve their living standards.
Mama Isata Sillah, a trader in the chiefdom, said that they are no longer running effective business as before because of the bad road.
She said, “Drivers usually refuse to come for our goods in this Chiefdom and the few that used to come, they always increase transportation fares on us. Sometimes our goods don’t get transported to places where they are needed.”
Sillah said that the perishable goods which she deals in rot after they have been stored for days.
By Ibrahim S. Bangura
29/6/2020. ISSUE NO.: 7855