Kailahun District is known to have one of the best when it comes to agricultural produce as their soil is very fertile, and even before the 11 year civil war it was known as the hub of the country’s economy as it hosted one of the biggest trading activities in the town of Koindu.
It could be recalled that the first gunshot marking the start of the civil war and the first ebola positive case were reported from Kailahun District which was also known to be politically charged during elections as it used to be one of the strongholds of the opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), but the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) party succeeded in securing two parliamentary seats and council representation in the 2012 elections.
Before the 2012 general elections, construction of the road from Kenema leading to Pendembu in Kailahun district started and presently the ISU Construction Company is on the verge of finishing that phase of the contract which many people believe helped the ruling APC to secure votes from that part of the country.
According to most people interviewed about the condition of the roads leading to the Kailahun township, their main concern is the 17 (seventeen) miles from Pendembu to the township which also extends to Koindu town.
Jeneh Brima, a petty trader dealing in rice, vegetable oil and other items disclosed that during the dry the road network is manageable as they will pay Le3000 (three thousand Leones) for each five gallon rubber but during the rains the price will double and even transportation cost increases, a situation that forced them to raise the prices of their commodities.
According to an owner of one social enterprise, Jusu ‘Brother Wan Jay’, he has been operating his business for the past five years in that part of the district but the price of transporting his drinks from Kenema always double and at some point, due to the poor road network they will have to wait for a week or two to receive their items which affect their businesses negatively.
One group that is very vital in present day society is the Commercial Bike riders known as ‘Okada’ and according to them, the poor road condition is affecting them negatively as they were forced to hike the transport fare due to increase in fuel price and the damage they encounter while transporting passengers, disclosing that during the dry they usually complete three or four trips a day but now ‘we barely manage to do one’, accusing fuel dealers of sky-rocketing their fuel prices.
Representing the fuel dealers in the district, Mohamed S Kamara explained that the terrible road condition is affecting their business operations as at present they have no option but to transport their fuel and diesel in five gallon containers because the fuel trucks can no longer make it through the rugged and dreadful road from Pendembu to the town of Kailahun.
According to him, initially they used to pay Le5000 (five thousand Leones) as transport fare but we now pay double that price and their loads take days before arriving which leads to scarcity and price hike which is beyond their control.
Responding to these complaints, the Deputy District Chairman of Kailahun District, Michael Komeh Lahai, stated that Council is responsible for the rehabilitation and construction of feeder roads and not major roads like the 17 mile road from Pendembu, explaining that the issue of price inflation is beyond council’s control as the traders will have to cost their markets based on how they bought and pay transport fare for them.
“In Kailahun, nothing is decentralised except for few departments that have been devolved to Council. The bulk of the areas that should be devolved to the Council are still with the central government,” he recalled, citing the allocation of scholarships which are still done by the central government, leaving aside recommendations of council.
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