By Septimus Senessie in Kono
Some concerned youths in Kono, in the eastern diamond rich district of Sierra Leone, have threatened to sustain massive street protests over delay in road works in that part of the country.
The youngsters, who blamed the Sierra Leone Road Authority (SLRA) for the situation, last week staged a ‘warning shot’ signaling their plans to protest the decision to suspend works by the Guinean construction company Guicopress.
Guicopress Sierra Leone Ltd officials confirmed to POLITICO that they had been asked to stop work on the rehabilitation of the combined 26.4 kilometer roads in Koidu Town in Kono and Kabala Town in Koinadugu.
The protesters who stood in front of the SLRA offices in Koidu held placards displaying various messages, all calling on the government to treat Kono District with seriousness in terms of implementation of development projects. Kono had gone for decades without good roads, a situation worsened by the civil war which saw over 90 percent of the district’s infrastructure destroyed.
The six-year old road rehabilitation project, which comprises 20.4 km for Koidu Town and 5.9 km for Kabala Town, started in November 2011 and has changed contractors on four different occasions.The project, according to its Bill of Quantities,entails the construction and maintenance of culverts and bridges. It also involves the construction of standard junctions, roundabouts, drainages, sidewalks and the installation of road signs. Guicopress took over the work in 2013.
No reason has so far been advanced publicly by SLRA for the suspension order. There have been claims that the Authority, responsible for awarding contracts,wanted to give the contract to a Chinese firm.
In a letter seen by POLITICO and dated April 18, 2016, SLRA had instructed Guicopress to stop all works on four roads amounting to the 5.2km. These are Old Yengema Road, D O Barracks Road, Koeyor Road, and Benguyima Road. The letter also indicated that SLRA had awarded the contract for those roads to CHICO, a Chinese road construction company already in charge of the rehabilitation of the 50km roads running from Yeyi to Koidu Town.
At the SLRA district office in Koidu, youths who identified themselves as ‘the Voice of the voiceless Kono’ held placards with messages condemning the termination of the road works. Their leader, Sahr DaudaKomba, told POLITICO that last week’s protest “was a warning shot.” He said it also marked the beginning of a one-week grace period for the Authority to reverse their decision.
“If SLRA fails to reverse the decision we will call for a districtwide protest against it,” he warned.
Kombaalso explained that they were concerned with the termination of the 20 kilometres road works in Koidu from the present contractor because repeated terminations of contractors had caused the long delay in the completion of the project. He said they were afraid that if SLRA terminated the work now, it would be difficult for it to be completed within the next two years.
Some petty traders at the Gbense Market also condemned the suspension order.
“What we want to hear from SLRA is the awarding of additional roads contract to the previous ones for pavement and not the suspension or termination of the one they have already awarded to a contractor,” said Kadiatu Kamara, who trades in second hand clothing.
“Koidu township road contract has changed so many hands since it was awarded and with this new company we have seen a big difference and we can now boast of a city status like Kenema, Bo, Makeni and Freetown,” she added.
The Guinean contractors have repeatedly blamed the delay on the road works on late disbursement of funds by the government. The company said the government owed it billions of Leones in arrears for pre-financed work done.
About a month ago the International Consultant Services (ICS), which is supervising the two road works, told the Parliamentary Committee on Works during monitoring visits in Koidu and Kabala towns that 74 percent of works on the roads had been completed by the contractor, while Kabala was almost 90% complete.
And the monthly progress report document number 45 for the month of April prepared by the consultant supervisor, Alpha Lavalie, sates: “The government has not paid for the Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs) number 5,6,7,8 and 9 have been submitted to the client [SLRA] for approval and payment. It covers the period of July 2015 to March 2016. To date IPCs 5-9 have not been paid by the client. These have exceeded the 45 days as stated in the works contract.”
It further states: “The delay in payment of any amount owed to the contractor is a significant risk factor that can affect the outcome of the project.”
Despite this, Guicopress said it is willing to continue with the work.
Amadu Sowe, its Country Manager, told POLITICO that he had in the last few months been talking to the company’s CEO back in Guinea about the funding constraints they were faced with and that they had agreed to pre-finance the project.
The Kono District representative of SLRA, Engineer Samuel Lewis,who is project manager for the Kono and Kabala projects, referred POLITICO to the Director General who would not respond to our calls or our text messages on the said issue.
(C) Politico 31/05/16
