March 15, 2021
By: Aruna Kamara (Bo)
Traders at Ernest Street opposite Fenton Road in Bo have expressed dissatisfaction over the way the Lebanese trailer drivers are blocking their view. The traders say the trailers owned by Lebanese merchants are obstructing the sales thus inhibiting their means of making money to pay taxes to the Bo City Council.
Ernest Street was chaotic last week Friday when the traders went into bitter confrontation with the Lebanese trailer drivers to stop them from parking at the street to offload goods for the Lebanese shops.
The Chairman of the Fenton Road Traders Association, Foday Conteh told this medium that there is a law that the trailers should not park to offload when the traders are on the streets. He argued that the Central Business District (CBD) is prohibited for the trailers to park during the day.
According to him, the trailers have ben given Mission Road in Bo where they should park and offload. He claimed that the police are not going around enforcing the law.
Mr. Conteh said that if the Lebanese trailer drivers park before their shops, they will block the view of their wares and potential buyers will not have access to buy which will ultimately but them out of business.
He urged the Police and the Bo City Council to speedily intervene to address their concerns, noting out that at Ernest Street there are two Lebanese shops, the Ali Saad and the Big Sale Company where the trailers often park to offload goods for Lebanese shops.
Mr. Conteh called the authorities to also engage the Lebanese Community to chart a way forward as some of the trailers are owned by the Lebanese.
Inspector Allen Phillip who is attached to the Traffic Department at the Bo West Police Division said that they are against the trailers coming into the central business district to park, as they can not only block the traders but equally affect the free flow of traffic .
He said that the Bo City Council has a role to play to stop the trailer drivers, as the Lebanese are claiming that they are giving five hundred thousand Leones as due to the Bo City Council for the parking of their trailers to offload their goods
Inspector Phillip noted that they are also concern about the traders occupying the middle of the Ernest streets and that it is the same Bo City Council who collects money from them.
However, he said that they will try to ensure that the trailer drivers are prevented from plying the said route when the traders are there.
Reacting to the allegation, the Information Education and Communication (IEC) Officer of the Bo City Council, Mac’Ivan Kakpindi Vandy, confirmed that they are receiving the said money from the Lebanese but is not for them to park their trailers.
The money he added is for them to park their cars by their shops but not trailers as claimed by the police officer. He noted that the Bo City Council is against the trailers offloading at the Central Business District when it is not time for them to do so”.
According to Mr. Vandy, there are bye laws regulating the trailer drivers parking at the Central Business District. He indicated that in said bye-law it is stated that the trailers should park in the evening when the traders are not around.
He said that they are however expecting the Police to enforce the bye-laws to the letter but cautioned the trailer drivers and owners that their diplomatic engagement with them will discontinue if they continue to flout the dictate of the bye –laws.
Mr. Vandi disclosed that the council erected shops at the Ernest Street in the wake of the Operation Push Back of traders on the street, and the shops were erected on Ernest Street for the traders to have space to sell their goods.