March 23, 2021
By Mohamed M. Sesay
homeless traders at the Sierra Leone-Liberia Border township of Jengema, have over the weekend vehemently criticized Sierra Leone Road Authority (SLRA) for what they described as a unexplained delay in the payments of monies due to owners of demolished houses on the right of way during the course of the Jendema highway construction by CLC construction company.
The Chairman for the Traders Union in Jendema Bobie Koroma intimated A-Z Newspaper that the current situation with the Jendema Traders whose shops and houses have been demolished or are on the verge of demolition is very unfortunate. He said most of the traders have become homeless.
He referenced the Bo-Shellmingo road construction to Jendema, where SLRA paid demolition compensation two years in advance to house owners.
He further disclosed that SLRA has also made payment to Fairo beneficiaries of the right of way demolition leaving out people in Jendema.
He appealed to the paramount chief and other key stakeholders in the Sorogbema Chiefdom for their timely intervention in order to salvage the issue of compensation for demolished structures.
“I have been calling the focal person for SLRA Engineer Issa Kanneh but he has been very consistent in making unfulfilled promises since last year. He always promised that they are coming to do the last survey for the demolished houses but to no avail. If things are going this way it will not tell well for us. If there is any way authorities can stop the construction work until SLRA pays the people that also will be fine,” he said.
On his part, Gibril Ali Kamara said he is a petty trader operating three shops in the Jendema Township of which two of those shops are located along the right of way. He added that he was expecting the SLRA to have paid and notified them at least a year ahead before demolishing their houses and also start the construction so that they would have been adequately prepared for the relocation process. He confirmed that SLRA has taken photos of the-would-be beneficiaries about one year ago but up till now, the payment has not been effected.
He noted that the SLRA has made payment of compensation to the last village before Jendema but Jendema has been left out. He added that they are very constrained at the moment in terms of accommodation. He also made mention of other host of petty traders who do not have a cent to start up their business structures.
“Right now all business people at Jendema are now displaced people because we don’t have anywhere to go. There is not even a community center given to us for accommodation,” he said. He concluded by appealing to state actors and local authorities to come to their aid.
In a telephone interview with A-Z Newspaper, Issa Kanneh, the Focal Person for SLRA for the Jendema Road Construction reassured that SLRA is in the process of effecting payments in lieu of compensations for demolished houses in that part of the country. He added that the Road Authority has done all what they could and that the payment decision is now left in the hands of the Ministry of Finance. He asked the affected to be rest assured that their monies will be hopefully paid early next month.