By Mabinty M. Kamara
For the first time since the civil war in the 90s, the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority, SLRSA has re-opened its training and maintenance facility to “contribute to the human capital development of the country through a state of the art mechanical training school for young people and staff of the authority.”
Speaking at the official opening ceremony of the facility, Soncu Jurgen, the CEO of AF company said they have eight years of experience in Sierra Leone and have realized that there was an urgent need for quality and organized spare parts dealing in the country.
He said: “we saw a lot of vehicles blocked on the roads. We saw a lot of engine smoke so we want to do something to improve the quality of the car and ensure safety on the roads. We approached the Roads Safety Authority with a project where we both feel comfortable with supplying the right spare parts and providing quality maintenance.”
He said “the second part of the project is that we do not only want to sell spare parts but we want to impart knowledge in local mechanics and to improve their quality so like in one or two years, there will be a full education program so that the local mechanics can take over.”
The Executive Director of SLRSA, Ibrahim Sannoh applauded the AF Company for such an investment. He said that the refurbished building had been a breeding ground for snakes since it was unutilized. “I’m very pleased that they have been magnanimous enough to refurbish the entire building and build the school at no cost to the SLRSA because they believe they do not only want to do business but to develop skills which was what we presented to them,” he said.
Sannoh said that the first batch of students in the school will be staff from the authority and from other engineering schools so as to boost their practical knowledge base.
The facility, located at its Kissy Road headquarters is operated by the partner company, Auto spare parts Freetown (AF) with advanced spraying facilities, spare parts and mechanical center.
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