By Sulaiman Jalloh
Dr. Dennis Sandy, Minster of Works and Public Assets has said the increment in toll road fee was part of the agreement between the then All People’s Congress (APC) government and the Chinese Railway Seventh Group (CRSG) in constructing the Wellington-Masiaka toll road.
In a viral video, the minister said the CRSG used about one hundred and fifty-four million dollars to construct the road, adding that clause 10.4 of the agreement between the then APC government and the CRSG states that, with the exchange rate defers or change or alter by more than ten percent, the government and CRSG will seat and discuss to harmonize and review the toll gate charges, noting that the Chinese would have reviewed the price since 2020.
Minister Sandy recognized the importance of private sector investment in national development.
“Private sector investment means people who are not part of government investing in the country with their own money. One of them is the Chinese. My family, the Chinses people have done a lot in terms of development in the country since independence,” he said, adding that in 2015, the then government entered into an agreement with the China Railway Seventh Group (CRSG) to widen and construct the Wellington-Masiaka highway, stretching about 62 kilometers with four lanes and three toll gates in Hastings, Songbo, and Masiaka.
He said the Technical and Evaluation Committee, which negotiated the tollgate prices, comprises government institutions, civil society groups, youth groups, drivers and members of parliament, specifically the parliamentary committee on works. He recollected that, after the committee had debated on the prices, it was then taken to cabinet and was harmonized.
He confirmed that cabinet has approved the rates, and that citizens are now being sensitized to understand the reason for the increment.
Saidu Jalloh is a business owner at Koakoyima, Koidu City, Kono District, Eastern Sierra Leone. He sells building materials.
Mr. Jalloh said the increment of the toll gates price will affect them greatly, especially for those of them doing business out of the capital and have to use all of the three toll gates to transport their goods.
“Well for us, this news did not go down well. These building materials are coming from the capital Freetown and the people (transport operators) that normally bring our goods pay in all the three tollgates. That causes prices to hike because we too will be left with no option but to increase the prices of our goods,” Jalloh told Expo Times.
He therefore called on the government to revisit the tollgates’ charges.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Wednesday, February 21st, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
