By Sulaiman Jalloh
Hon Bashiru Silikie, Deputy Leader of Government Business and Chairman of Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Works and Public Assets
The parliamentary Committee on Works and Public Assets on Thursday, March 13th, 2024, engaged stakeholders including civil society organisations, motor drivers and tricycle riders’ unions and the media to discuss the proposed tollgate charges increment.
The committee chairman, Hon. Bashiru Silikie, in his opening statement said the engagement is to ascertain the views of the public and to further proffer recommendations to parliament.
Hon. Silikie informed the gathering that the Ministry of Works and Public Assets has laid the paper and that parliament will genuinely look into the agreement, noting that the business of parliament is to make laws.
“Parliament has decided that the committee should look into the proposed charges,” he said, noting that they have to review the documents and that from observation, there has been some complaints. He added that parliament does not joke with documents.
According to the lawmaker, the ministry has the full responsibility to review and react and that the ministry should look into the document holistically.
“We have asked for the data and both parties have submitted, but there is no way to verify the documents. Parliament cannot review an agreement; it is the executive that has the right to review agreements,” the chairman said, noting that as a committee, they will still make a recommendation to parliament, saying whatever the committee says is not a law rather it is a recommendation that parliament will look into.
On his part, Edmond Abu, the Chief Executive Officer of Native Consortium and Research Center applauded the parliament for their intervention and called for the welfare of citizens, noting that his organisation has engaged citizens, community heads and others on the charges.
“We have seventeen copies of documents that represent 200 CSOs and they have told us the increment charges should be dropped,” the activists pointed out and denied the statement made by the chairman about the different documents presented by both parties: CRSG and SLRA. According to him, they have three positions which include the objection to the agreement by citizens.
“We are demanding that CRSG remove all the artificial blockages at the alternative routes” he said, while stressing the total blockage at Hastings. He added that the people of Songo do not have proper toilet facility. Mr. Abu asserted that blocking of the alternative routes is a total security threat to the country. He pleaded that the drivers should be given the alternative routes, noting that the contract did not give the construction company any right to block any road, terming the deal as bad.
Alpha Amadu Bah is the president of motor drivers in the country. He pleaded on behalf of truck drivers and people affected by the group four in the agreement which are vehicles transporting essential goods, saying they want some differences. “We have already asked about different prices from vehicles in the country and foreign vehicles coming from Guinea” and we are also asking for three hundred Leones for vehicles in the country and five hundred Leones for trailers coming from Guinea” he pleaded
In his response, Hon. Bashiru Silikie said all the contributions from the speakers are very important and it will be part of their recommendations to parliament.
Copy right –Printed in the Expo Times News on Monday, march 18th, 2023 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
