By: Mohamed M. Sesay
In a bid to commence the Bo-Mattru Jong Road Construction soonest, the Chief Minister Jacob Jusu Saffa has yesterday the 5th of August 2022, inspected the construction machines worth about US$ 10 million brought in by Maripoma Construction Enterprise at Queen Elizabeth Quay II.
The machines the Chief Minister validated include; 4 Excavators, 2 backhoe loaders, 2 motto graders, 2 track type tractors, 5 vibrator soil compactors, 5 wheel loaders, 20 tipper trucks, 4 Art heads, 2 low beds, 1 trailer, 1 oil tank, 4 double cabin pick-up, 4 DSD Trucks, 2 County Busses for workers , 2 oil tankers, 4 water tankers, and 1 SUV Vehicle.
In his brief statement, Jacob Jusu Saffa reminded that they promised the people of Sierra Leone that they would fix the Bo-Mattru Road as one of the few District Headquarters Towns that are not connected.
As government, he said they have done the 10 kilometers from Bo-Tinkoko which is now completed.
Chief Minister also expressed that the other component of the road from kpetema-Mattru is what that have contracted to Maripoma Enterprise Limited having won the bidding through a competitive bidding process.
Jacob Jusu Saffa also intimated that they have already secured funding for the construction of the Kpetema –Mattru Road covering the now collapsed Bumpe Bridge. Like all other roads after completion, Chief Minister expressed that the road will now ameliorate agricultural inputs in the District and promotes the movement of essential commodities.
“This means we care about our people, it means we do what we say and it means that this is the government of trust”, the Chief Minister reveals.
He expressed that the Kambia Oil palm is known to be one of the largest in Sierra Leone and they have vehicles plying that road from Mattru to Bamoi on a daily basis.
He however, added that the road network has not been good for the past years. Chief Minister also intimated that the entire Bonthe Distrct has never benefited from a tarred road and as a matter of fact, the entire Bonthe District do not have more than 3 kilometers of tarred road. He said it is the Bio led government that initiated effort during his time as Minister of Finance, in ensuring that funding is secured for the aforementioned road construction.
“I am here firstly as a country to appreciate the contractor who has demonstrated this interest for the road construction. My understanding is that the monetary value of the equipment here is far more than the amount of money disbursed to the contractor”, he said.
Chief Minister also expressed elation for the determination of the contractor to kick-start the work very soon. He disclosed that the actual amount of the contract is about US$24 million plus US$ 4 million for compensations and other commitments which brought to a total of US$ 28 million for phase one of the project. He added that phase two of the project would also go for the same amount which would amount to a total of about US$ 60 million.
The Country Director of Maripoma Enterprise Limited Mahama Ayariga, also reaffirmed that they won the contract to construct the road from Mattru Jong-Kpetema which is a 40 kilometer road.
He added that they have imported all the machineries needed for the work.
He further intimated that they brought in sixty-four (64) units equipment which include; 4 Excavators, 2 backhoe loaders, 2 motto graders, 2 track type tractors, 5 vibrator soil compactors, 5 wheel loaders, 20 tipper trucks, 4 Art heads, 2 low beds, 1 trailer, 1 oil tank, 4 double cabin pick-up, 4 DSD Trucks, 2 County Busses for workers , 2 oil tankers, 4 water tankers, and 1 SUV Vehicle.
The Country Director also assured that once the clearance is given, they would move all the machines to the project site.
Mr Mahama also intimated that once the machines are on the ground, then work would commence instantaneously. He furthered that the equipment doubles the size of the road awarded to them. In order to expedite the work, he said they are going set out two work gangs wherein, one gang would handle half of the road and the other handles the other half so that they could finish the work in record time. In terms of promoting local content policy, the Country Director also assured that they would be using workers from Bo and Mattru Jong surroundings.
The Maripoma Enterprise Limited started operation 16 years ago Maripoma and was founded by Mr. Ali Seidu, as its current Managing Director, General Merchant, Building Construction and Civil Engineering firm.
In 1998, the Company was incorporated as a private liability company under the Companies Code 1963 (Act 179) .
The Company over the years has grown significantly from one which only undertook small projects at the district level to a multi-million construction firm handling huge projects across the length and breadth of the country. The Company has grown consistently and steadily recording a net profit of about half a million Ghana Cedis annually over the last five years.
This policy of the company addresses the following commitments and principles, Commitment to protect the health and safety of all people working at or visiting our sites. The company plans, manages, conducts and supervises all their work in compliance with legislation and other requirements.
And ensures that all workers have a clear understanding of their responsibilities.
