By Prince Musa
Civil Society activists in the eastern Sierra Leone headquarters of Kenema have taken on the central government accusing it of "bias" in the distribution of national resources in terms of development projects.
Last week the activists, under the umbrella of the civil society and human rights committee in the district, published an open letter serving as an official complaint directed to the Ombudsman’s office and copied to foreign diplomats and the media.
In the letter, the activists complained of poor health and educational facilities, and claimed that road construction projects were concentrated in the northern part of the country, leaving places like Kenema, an opposition heartland, deprived.
One of the people behind the campaign is activist Fallah Bockarie, who heads the Foundation for Development, Democracy, and Human Rights. He outlined the three key areas around which their complaints bordered. He said the central government had neglected the people of Kenema.
He said the campaign would continue until the attention of government was brought to the “deplorable” roads in what is the provincial headquarters of eastern Sierra Leone.
Bockarie said government had the responsibility to provide development to every part of the country on an equal basis, something he said was not the case under the government of President Ernest Bai Koroma.
With regards the condition of the roads in the district, he said they were aware the contract to construct the main Kenema town road had been awarded to a construction firm called First Tricon who were yet to be seen engaging in any activity.
With regards the health sector, the activists singled out the working conditions of health workers, “inadequate supplies of free health care drugs, and insufficient ambulances” in the district, among others.
Photo: A taste of the main roads Kenema
Copyright (c) Politico 2016
