By Bampia James Bundu
The Mayor of Makeni City Council has asked for the sum of Le800 Million for the maintenance of roads within the city, which she said are in a deplorable state. Mayor Sunkari Kabba-Kamara was speaking to journalists at a news conference held at the council.
She said that a proposal of Le 800 Million has been submitted by the Makeni City Council to the management of the Road Maintenance Fund for funding, adding that an initial tranche of 15% (Le 120 Million) would be provided for the work to commence. The mayor said that it was important for the council to secure the funding to rehabilitate the roads because of the heavy down pour of rains.
She said she had several challenges in ensuring that she effectively manned the affairs of the council, adding that when she took over the leadership of the council, she received no handing-over notes from her predecessor. She said she was therefore running the council form her own experience in addition to many financial problems she inherited from the former mayor.
Mayor Kabba-Kamara noted that as the fastest developing city in the country, she was working relentlessly to transform the municipality into a standard city that would be conducive for its inhabitants and visitors alike. She pointed out however that the financial strength of the council was weak because they could not generate much revenue that would enable the council to effectively execute its programme. “Councils are expected to receive development grants from government in order to showcase what it has achieved within one hundred days but unfortunately the fund is not forthcoming”, Mayor Kabba-Kamara noted.
She said that her council had received about 940 solar panels for street lights from the Angelic Company and that installing work was underway across the municipality. “We will give priority to institutions after the streets would have been provided with solar lights,” she said adding that she wanted people to feel safe when walking along the streets at night.
