By Mabinty M. Kamara
The government of Sierra Leone is set to terminate the contract of First Tricon, the company constructing the long delayed Kenema township road.
An official said the decision was due to the delay in the completion of the contract which was blamed on the company.
The contract was first awarded in 2016 by the Ernest Bai Koroma administration. It followed cries of neglect from the people of Kenema in terms of the deteriorating nature of their roads.
The project entails three stretch of roads: Blama Road, Dama Road and Hanga Road.
Joseph Samba Keifala, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA), said the decision was also in response to the demand of the people of Kenema who had grown fed up with the contractor.
“The community is not satisfied with their work and therefore, against the end of the month, a new tender will be out for a competent contractor to take the project forward,” Keifala told journalists on Thursday at the government’s weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Information and Communication.
He added: “In the second phase of project distribution, other township roads will be commissioned.”
First Tricon is a Nigerian owned construction firm which was incorporated in Sierra Leone in 2011. Besides the Kenema roads, it is also implementing a number of other road contracts, including the Bo-Mattru Jong Road. The company is also currently constructing two roads in Pujehun District, after it completed the Pujehun township road.
Opinions on the completion of the Kenema roads work have been split. Some believe the company has just been sluggish to complete the road because of lack of capacity, while others hold that the delay is as a result of lack of funding.
Upon assuming office in 2018, the government of President Julius Maada Bio continued the contract with First Tricon.
Sources told Politico that the government even gave the company a 30% advance payment to resume work.
Even at this, nothing seemed to happen, much to the dismay of residents.
Mariama Vandy, a resident of Dama Road, one of the roads under construction, told Politico that they were tired with the “unprogressive” nature of the project. She said the dust was unbearable.
"We hardly use the front view of our house now during the dries, because every passing vehicle or motor bike leaves a huge dust behind which is not good for our health,” she lamented, wondering why the Bio-administration decided to continue the project with the same company.
Commercial motorist Morie Lahai is also disappointed with the government which he said is to blame for the delay of the project for awarding a contract to a company that everyone knew couldn’t do the job.
"They are taking us for granted. The previous government did the same thing to us here and we let it go. Now this one came, which we think is ours, and they have started neglecting us again,” he said.
Augustine Sannoh, Regional Convener, National Civil Society Forum Sierra Leone, who doubles as the Coordinator of the Kenema Road Development Committee, holds a contrary view. He said the company had both the human and mechanical competencies to execute the project. He believed that the issue is with the availability of the necessary financial resources.
“First Tricon Company is currently one of the best companies in the country. I have been to their facility during our monitoring tours and I can tell you that they have better machines and the man power to do the job,” Sannoh said.
He added: “Road work is very expensive and if you allow the construction company to pre-finance it, they either do a poor work or there is a delay.”
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