Africa24 news
On this year’s Christmas festive season, haulage vehicles still run day time amidst crowds of people in Sierra Leone’s many congested streets in the capital.
Freetown is not safe for hawkers, stalls and shops sellers, peddlers, pedestrians, office workers, school children, passengers.
This is because as heavy traffic are caused by transport commercial vehicles, and by cartwheel pushers, and by people, the containers are moving during day’s hours carrying heavy imported goods.
This activity by importers of valuable goods to allow container vehicles to travel along their goods within the capital and to the provinces is posing huge risk to the lives of many people in Freetown.
Quite recently, a container skidded off on a sidewalk at Cline Town at a Chinese factory commonly known as National.
The fallen down articulated lorry was leaning against the Chinese wall at National in Cline Town.
It lay there for about four days without being towed off by road authority men. It was only on Monday 11th December, 2023 when it was seen being pulled away by a towing truck.
“Yesterday, this same fall off truck was towed but it could not get off from the ground,” says a male passenger.
Just two days ago, last week, two women blamed Sierra Leone police and road traffic authorities for not disallowing heavy duty lorries such as containers and fuel tankers to move about during the days than at nights.
“We keep seeing containers every day during the day in the middle of the town where traders and people are so plentiful. That is very big risk to our lives.
“|In the past few years and even as recent as in July this year, container (s) has killed many traders along the streets. At Tombo junction in Waterloo, a container killed about seven women who sold ice blocks.
“And now, since those accidents had happened, we don’t see authorities and police doing anything to stop these containers from moving during days hours when people are doing business,” said the women passengers.