By Lansana Fofanah.
The Deputy Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority, James Bio has announced the launch of what he called ‘Operation Free Flow’ within the central business district of Freetown in order to sanitize the City.
The SLRSA Deputy Director said the Authority together with the Sierra Leone Police are determined to clean up the central business district which has become too chaotic, dangerous and no longer conducive for business.
He noted that the safety and wellbeing of every Sierra Leonean remains the utmost concern of His Excellency the President, adding that they would leave no stone unturned to sanitize the streets of Freetown.
“The number of road crashes is appalling. All these motorcycles we have apprehended today are either not licensed, uninsured, or without proper registration”, he said.
Mr. Bio explained that the current operation was launched in consultation with the Sierra Leone Police and other stakeholders including the Sierra Leone Bike Riders Union at a meeting held at the Inspector-General of Police office to weed out reckless riders off the streets. “No law permits one to ply the street without a valid license. On several occasions when they cause an accident, there would be no way to trace them after they would have run away. Our mandate is to enforce road traffic rules to the letter and we will never stop until the mandate given to us by the President is achieved,” the SLRSA boss emphasized.
On a disappointing note, James Bio said that after yesterday’s operation, some lawless riders stormed the Authority’s Headquarters at Kissy Road and other public places which he said is an indication that the leadership of the Bike riders union never informed their membership of the outcome of the stakeholders meeting.
“As an Authority, we are not doing this to punish anyone but to save the precious lives of Sierra Leoneans from road crashes. After the operation yesterday, Okada riders came to us and informed us that, they are using the central business route because roads dedicated to them at the Hillside Bypass are being blocked by community people and we are in consultation with them to see that they return to their routes,” he said.
Throughout this week, Mr. Bio has been on the streets of Freetown with Road Safety Corps and the Police to ensure the free flow of vehicles.
Over four hundred unlicensed, unregistered and uninsured motorcycles have so far been apprehended during the second day of the operation.
