By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
Passengers plying the sea between Lungi and Freetown using the ferry service have expressed concerns over the lack of electricity and proper ventilation leading to total darkness in the waiting halls of the terminals at Kissy and Tagrin.
Gibrill Sankoh is one of the passengers plying with the ferries. He told Politico that the darkness in the waiting hall has become very alarming a situation which he said has been so for over two months. He added that the management should not rely on EDSA which is not forthcoming at the moment and should find other means like solar panels to light the waiting halls.
‘’The management is making a huge amount of money on ticket sales and they should not only rely on EDSA alone to provide them with electricity,’’ he said.
He added that darkness is a recipe for thieves to penetrate and attack passengers using that route, and access other parts of the country including the capital. He also noted that the ferry fare has gone up from fourteen thousand Leones (Le14, 000) to seventeen thousand Leones (Le 17,000) which he said is a burden to them.
Sankoh added that increasing the ferry fare would not have been a problem to them as passengers due to the fact that there has been an increment in the pump prices of petroleum products. But he stated that the quality of the ferry service should also improve. He mentioned that it is only the VIP section of the ferry that is worth the amount they are paying and said it is a disservice to them.
He ended up pleading with the government to ease the fuel price so that the ferry fare would also minimize.
Another ferry passenger Maseray Kalokoh noted that with the manner in which the ferry fare keeps increasing, she is worried for those that cannot afford much.
She said that she started using the ferry when its price was two thousand five hundred Leones (Le 2,500), compared to the Le 17,000 they are currently paying.
She said if appropriate measures are not put in place, it would escalate to a point where ordinary people cannot afford anymore.
During our visit to the Kissy Ferry terminal, Politico observed that passengers were using mobile phone touch lights to see around them as they await to onboard the ferry. Ticket sellers also had to light up their phones as they sold tickets out.
The General Manager of the Mahera Ferry, Alusine Daramy told politico that the increase in ferry fare was due to the increase in the pump price of fuel to eighteen thousand Leone (Le 18,000) in the market. He noted that as soon as the pump price of fuel drops, they will have no option but to also reduce the ferry fare.
‘’Passengers are our bosses, so we are working in their interest. We would not be selfish enough to always increase the ferry fare had it not been the increment made on the fuel,’’ he said.
In response to the appalling state of the passenger waiting room at the terminals, the Company Secretary of the Sierra Leone Ports Authority (SLPA), Martin Maada George Esq. acknowledged the prevailing situation in the two waiting halls, noting that the standby generator used to complement the electricity supply by the utility company, EDSA is currently faulty.
He said they have contacted an enterprise in town to provide them with another set of generators in case those that are on repairs would no longer function, or are delayed.
He pointed out that the terminal operators only give 1% of their proceeds to the authority and therefore should be able to handle such issues arising in the terminal without any alarm. He noted that their mandate as authority is to provide the facilities for the terminal, noting that it is the responsibility of the terminal management to handle them with care in terms of maintenance and fuel to light them up in case there is a power cut from EDSA.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (22/06/22)
