Freetown residents decry ‘Operation Sweep’

Residents of Freetown; the capital of Sierra Leone have condemned ‘Operation Sweep’ imposed by the Freetown City Council as biased and ill motivated referencing the fact that the council leaves the most populated and congested streets in terms of street trading and picks on places where small businesses bear no impediment to traffic or the peace of society.

Expressing aggravation on the operation, citizens who spoke to this press reveal that traders are still selling on all major streets in the capital even though the Freetown City Council have instructed them to quit all the major streets in the city, but traders still trade in those areas they said.

This according to Memunatu Sillah is due to what she referred to as “the politicization of street trading in the city. Sani Abacha Street, Ecowas Street” according to Memunatu whose mini shop has been broken by the council “the council is not fair in doing all of this crazy affairs of theirs, if anything, it must be these people disturbing the peace here in the central business district of the capital that must be removed; not isolated shops that have nothing to do with the normal life of the city,” she fumed. Mohamed Lansana in his opinion said “these street traders and bunch of lawless thieves gathered here on Abacha and Ecowas Street are the official constituency of the ruling All People’s Congress; they will never touch them, they know what the consequence is if they ever dare to scare them away from these places”. 

Masalay Kamara, a rather disgruntled pedestrian at PZ roundabout protested: the Freetown City Council must not only be seen collecting dues from hawkers and market women but they need to come up with a good quality plan for traders in the city, don’t tell me about the issue is politicized, the council must look for solution, it is their duty and are bound to do so traders pay their dues and services must be given them as value for their money; affordable one at that, not the rhetoric Sewa Ground that may end up in the hands of the privileged few. 

Police reports confirm, Abacha Street, Guards Street and Ecowas Street are marred with pickpockets and all sorts of criminals that serve as threat to peaceful citizens making use of the said streets.

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