Right Hand Ban: Threat to Masada
After allowing the importation of right-handed vehicles to Sierra Leone for several years, the Government of Sierra Leone recently banned the importation and use of the vehicles, a situation that has left many of the right hand vehicle owners embarrassed and worried.
With effect from the 1st September, this year, any right hand vehicle that plies the roads of Sierra Leone will be arrested for breaking the law.
Government gave a relatively short notice before imposing the ban and right hand vehicles have barely two months grace period left.
What has worried me more and aroused my fear and concern is that the ban will end up disturbing the operations of the contracted company disposing the Freetown garbage, Masada, as most of the vehicles are right-handed. Unless Masada decides to incur the cost of buying left hand vehicles or change to left its right hand vehicles, the embargo is bound to ground its operations and when that happens, Freetown will once more overflow with garbage.
It goes without saying that Masada cannot dispose garbage without vehicles and if most of its vehicles are prohibited from using the road, how will it operate if it does not have the financial resources to replace its right hand vehicles to left-handed ones? And it is almost impossible for government to allow only Masada vehicles to ply the roads, other right hand vehicle owners will definitely cry foul and accuse government of injustice and partiality.
Why was government allowing the importation and use of right hand vehicles knowing they were illegal? Sierra Leone changed from right to left hand traffic several years ago, but all the while, people were importing and using right hand vehicles right under the nose of the police and other law enforcement agents. Was that not a way of legitimizing their importation and use? Why should the ban be imposed only recently?
I am humbly suggesting that the right-hand vehicle embargo be lifted and ample notice given to allow the owners to prepare for it after which it can be re-imposed without embarrassing people. Transport Minister, Balogun Koroma must think twice; 2018 is few years away.
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Augustine Musa
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As a Sierra Leonean I want to thank God for a man like Dr. Khan and all those health workers who have lost their lives in the ebola war. May God give their families peace.
30th July 2014In this face of this tragedy and the so many other ailments of our society , we should continue to pray for good leadership at every level of our society. Dr. Khan could have chosen to ignore the ills of ebola around him, knowing so well the risks he was taking. If this selflessness can be seen and demonstrated in our leaders, the statistics of our nation would not be so negative. As a people we should build selflessness into our psyche inorder to build a better society.