By: Aruna Kamara (BO)
The Public Relations Officer of the Sierra Leone Traders Union, Sheku Tejan Marrah has cautioned traders in Bo not to allow anybody to incite them to stay home without selling their goods.
Speaking to A-Z Newspaper, Mr. Marrah said that as a Union they cannot countenance strike action by their members and in fact when there is strike action it is the traders that suffer.
“We are aware of the global economic crisis and Sierra Leone is not the only country suffering and as a Union, we appreciate the effort of the government in its effort to reduce the impact of the global crisis,” he said, adding that “we are not politicians but we need to work with the government of the day to ensure that there is a peaceful environment for our traders to sell their goods.”
He said that time is precious to the traders and that is why traders should be out to sell to fund their living.
Mr. Marah assured the traders in Bo that the Union is committed to seeking their welfare and that if things are not going on well, the traders’ union can engage the government and dialogue instead of embarking on a demonstration or stay home strike.
The Union, he said works within the ambit of the law and implored the traders in Bo to always listen to the union and put into practice what the Union tells them to do lawfully.
Speaking to A-Z Newspaper at the Bo Central Market, Juliet Koroma said that “we will not allow any unscrupulous people to mislead us to do the wrong thing that we take the country backwards.”
She said that even when they said curfew was announced to be at 3 PM on Wednesday, we worked within the ambit of the law.
Earlier, following the announcement of the curfew by
the Vice President, Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, panic gripped the city of Bo as there was running over the town as people were trying to get home within the short time the curfew was announced.
The Stakeholders including the Police and Military engaged the people of Bo on the radio to remain calm.
