May 7, 2021
Scene of the presser
By Mohamed M. Sesay
In consonance with the launch of the commendable “operation smooth ridding” aimed at restoring traffic sanity within the Central Business District (CBD), the leadership of the Sierra Leone Police has yesterday the 5th of May, disclosed to Journalists that in a joint operation with the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA), they have apprehend twenty hundred and ninety-seven (297) commercial motor bikes. These are motorbikes that have been reportedly riding within the CBD.
Emphasizing on the success of the “operation smooth riding” so far within the CDB, the Director of Traffic Management AIG Kaprie Saidu Kamara intimated that in a bid to ensure a free flow of vehicular traffic within the Central Business District, the traffic Directorate conducted an operation dubbed as “operation smooth ridding two” together with the Sierra Leone Road Safety Corps. He further disclosed that on Friday the 16th of April 2021, they arrested forty-five (45) commercial motor bikes plying around the Cotton Tree Roundabout. On the 19th April 2021 on to the 22nd April 2021, he also said Freetown East Regional Division within the Sierra Leone police also arrested one hundred and thirty (135) commercial motor bikes along Kissy Road on to Eastern Police clock tower area, and the Traffic Management at the Road Safety Authority then arrested one hundred and seventeen (177) commercial motor bikes bringing to a total of two hundred and ninety-seven (297) commercial motor bikes.
“Sixty-seven (67) of those arrested motor bikes have been issued with ticket to incur fines so far at both Central Police Division and the Police Training School Compound and the remaining fifty-two (52) that were arrested within that period are still in the PTS Compound and Central Police Division respectively waiting to be ticketed by SLRSA”, he said.
He said that the operations were executed by both the SLRSA and the SLP wherein, ticket of five hundred thousand Leones fine for plying the CBD has been issued by SLRSA Corps Officer for each arrested commercial motor bike. He further revealed that whenever tickets are issued on arrested bikes, they riders have to go to the bank and pay the five hundred thousand Leones fine and henceforth, they are requested to come with the receipt as proof of payment. He concluded that the implementation of the operation is targeted at major streets within the Central Business District inclusive Up-Gun, Kissy Road, Fourah Bay Road, Goderich Street, Siaka Stevens Street, Pademba Road among others.
On her part, the Deputy Inspector General of Police Elizabeth Turay assured all and sundry that the sustainability of the “operation smooth ridding two” within the Central Business District will never be compromised and that the operation is instituted to stay. The Deputy IG also informed that the top leadership of the police had held a meeting as to how they could best assist the executive of the Bike Riders with regards to regulating their activities. She noted that one of the areas they are looking at is to come up with a guideline so that commercial bike riding will be done in an organized form as it obtains in other countries.
“So we are thinking of having another meeting at the Office of the National Security (ONS) with the bike riders Executive so that we can come out with a guideline as to how we can actually regulate their conducts, their movements. So were are on top of situation. The ban on commercial bike riding within the CBD is going to hold, we are going to sustain it and they are never going to return to the Central Business District. There is much semblance of orderliness within the central Business District which is a big feather on the cap of the Police and we won’t relent, we will continue to do the good work”, she assured.