By: Precious Miracle Kargbo (Intern)
The Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority Executive Director Rev Smart Senesie on 29th August 2023 reveals that SLRSA is committed to rebranding and transforming the road and transport sector by putting an end to issuers of fake licenses and impersonators in the country.
He made this revelation during an interview on 98.1 FM Radio Democracy, Good Morning Salone Show in Freetown.
“The era of fake license is a complete history in the SLRSA now and the enforcement team is determined to take desperate actions against anyone found wanting of duplicating license…he further that “We are not ignorant of the fact that some people are in the act of scanning and printing of license of fake license but we are committed as an institution to go against them and bring them to law because we are a digitalized institution and our reputation will not be tarnished”.
The issues of intermediaries to bring out license for other customers are advice to form them and create an agency that will be solely responsible to provide assistance to other people as we will not encourage anyone to impersonate the office of the SLRSA to scam other customers.
Rev Senesie started by narrating the history of the SLRSA which emanates from the Road Transport Authority (RTA) which the government of Sierra Leone established by an Act of Parliament in 1996 and in 2003 was transformed into the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority. The Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA) is charged with task to ensure road safety and to provide driver’s license, vehicle license and provide train Tricycle, motor bike riders and other units within the road transport sector.
“We have done a lot since the establishment of this institution and our responsibilities is to carry out our mandate, a lot of rebranding has been done in the license division as new bio-metric system has now been introduced for the production and collection of license and this also involves the extensive road safety training and signs, then the biometric phase will always make sure to check with NCRA on details for drivers for any crime before issuing out any license to anyone, either the NCRA ID-card or the voter Id must be shown to validate this”. Rev Smart said.
Additionally, the Director General continued that license forms are accessible and anyone can immediately start the process from attaining the form at any bank, once you arrive at the Bank earlier then you can start the process and finish within the shortest period of time. Before this time there were a lot of complaints from customers but now we have amended that problem.
Meanwhile, on addressing the issue of Tariff which sky rocketed since January1st 2023 on vehicle and driver’s license, Rev Senesie says since 2017 the Sierra Leone government signed an agreement through a PPP arrangement with auto-spects and an agreement took hold as a country to improve on the services of the SLRSA which includes structures, infrastructures and equipment. At the end of December in 2022 they have achieved two new structures at kissy road and in Mile six, backed with sophisticated equipment’s with modernized standards to achieve the sole aim of ensuring safety on the roads.
He clarified that the auto-spects as an organization has provided an agreement that has been put in place to pay in turn, the tariff as proposed by the company but through the intervention of President Bio what we are now seeing is the reduced form of tariffs.
In addendum, Rev Senesie concludes that vehicle and driver’s License are all available and in all the regions which ranges from various prices on public and commercial vehicles.
“Our mandate is on road safety and we are working in touch with the Ministry of Transportation to ensure that all our biddings are in place and effectively.”