Magistrate leads self-help road reconstruction
Port Loko, Sept. 9 (SLENA) – Royal Road Cemetery in Port Loko is undergoing some self-help reconstruction works being undertaken by members of the ‘Rolal Community Youths’ with support from the Resident Magistrate for Port Loko and Kambia Districts, Abdul Sheriff. (Photo: Magistrate Sheriff (fourth from right) and a cross section of the Rolal Community Youths)
This is the road that leads to one of the very few cemeteries that have survived from the indiscriminate land grabbing and subsequent selling in the Maforki Chiefdom, Port Loko district.
Kabeie Sesay, the leader of the group, said the work commenced in earnest some few days ago and was now at top gear, adding that the idea was developed out of their desire to ease the plight of both the residents of Backdad and those that travel to and from that community.
He said the lack of maintenance had reduced the road to a bush path with potholes, thereby converting it to what can be better described as a ‘death trap’ especially for motorists. He said it was so dangerous and slippery for pedestrians especially in the rainy season, citing the case of a corpse that recently capsized from the hands of its carriers and fell into the pool of water.
As buttressed by Magistrate Abdul Sheriff who finds himself in that part of the town largely because his official Quarter was being used for a Community Radio Station, the Rolal Cemetery Road is nothing to write home about.
The magistrate lamented that the road has no drainage system and is often ‘a no go zone’. Apart from the regular damage it causes to his vehicle and the corresponding huge costs of none refundable repairs, he said the road has also been an immense embarrassment to himself and most of his visitors. He spoke of the several times his vehicle got stocked in the middle of those ponds and how it used to take several hours before he could be eventually bailed out by people in the surroundings.
The Magistrate said he has been so much impressed by the initiative of these young people that he decided to physically participate in the road work in addition to his financial contribution. He viewed the initiative as one that is geared towards community development and that his physical presence could serve as a motivation for effective work.
Meanwhile, Kabeie Sesay, the leader of this workforce, which comprised of redundant workers of mining companies, DJs, artists, teachers and job seekers, has lauded the efforts of Magistrate Sheriff for both his physical and financial contributions towards their undertakings.
He however outlined the issue of tools and food as some of the most crucial challenges they were faced with.
Credit SLENA By Hassan BruzStay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!
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