April 9, 2021
By Ilyasa Baa
Since the start of this year, pupils in Port Loko have not been able to board the two school buses due to renewal of contract of the drivers but modalities have now been put in place by the Port Loko City Council for the buses to resume operation.
Investigation mounted by A-Z newspaper has shown that the drivers, namely Abu Bakarr Kamara and Gibril Conteh were first contracted by the Sierra Leone Road Transport Authority (SLRTC) from September 2019 to September 2020. There was a renewal from October 2019 to 31ST December 2020, when their contracts were supposed to end. Although their contracts have not been renewed, it seems the drivers are ready to resume work when school reopens for third term.
The Chief Administrative Officer of the Port Loko City Council, Augustine Sam has confirmed that the sum of fifteen million Leones (LE 15,000,000) has been deposited in their account to take care of the operation of the buses for three months.
He said the money is meant to cover the drivers’ salaries for the month of January, February and March and also to purchase fuel for the smooth operation of the buses. He disclosed that maintenance of the buses has been a challenge as so much time is wasted getting a mechanic from Freetown to do repairs on the buses in Port Loko.
However, accusing fingers were pointed at the Council alleging that the halt of the buses were as a result of embezzlement. This medium has learnt that the fifteen million Leones deposited has been in the bank since 25th February, 2021 when the deposit was done.