By: Audrey John
Executive members of the Sierra Leone Scrap Metal Dealers Association on Wednesday June 22, 2022 met with the Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority [SLRSA] at the Authority’s headquarters Kissy Road, Freetown.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss some key issues identified by the Authority relating to the business of scrap metals in the Country.
Addressing the meeting, the Executive Director, Rev. Smart Kelson Senesie expressed appreciation to the Executive members of the Association for responding to the call of the Authority. He disclosed that, scrap metal was a very important business as they provide employment and pay taxes to the government.
The E.D advised the Association to operate within the confines of the law.
The Executive Director highlited some key concerns which he requested both the scrap metal dealers and the Authority to jointly address some of these concerns were: sale of vehicles as scrap and the disposal of Vehicle Number Plates without reference to the Authority. He said vehicle number plates were the property of the SLRSA therefore, they must be returned to the Authority before the sale of any vehicle as scrap.
He informed the meeting that, the Authority had a mandate to keep data of all vehicles in the country and added that, for a vehicle to be sold as scrap without the return of the registration plate will distort the data of vehicles in the country. Rev. Smart admonished the Association to collaborate with the Authority in order to address the concerns raised.
The President of the Association, Abdulai Daboh informed the meeting that, the Association had a membership of over 29,000 people. He said they deal in Brass, Copper, Aluminum, Plastic and Batteries. He however, noted that, as an Executive they had cautioned their membership to always do legal business and also to desist from buying government assets without going through due process.
Acting Director of Transport SLRSA, Daniel C. Kaitibie said the SLRSA was the government agency responsible for the regulation of the road transport industry with a responsibility to keep data of all registered vehicles in the country and warned against the disposal of vehicles as scraps without the approval of the Authority.
Public Relations Manager SLRSA, Mr. Abdul Karim Dumbuya noted that, the storage of scrap metals in certain environments and movement through push carts “omolankay” was a challenge to Road Safety as pedestrians were often exposed to danger.
He called for the development of policies and regulations to guide the disposal of vehicles as scraps.
Other notable contributions were made by the Planning Manager Mr. James Stevens and Research and Development Manager Mr. Ambrose Tucker.
The meeting was chaired by the SLRSA company secretary Mr. Abu Bakarr Sheriff who reminded the scrap metal dealers that, rights go with responsibility and appealed to them to always be mindful of their rights and responsibilities when plying their trade.
