By Hassan I. Conteh
The end of July has witnessed some very heavy downpour in Waterloo town, the outskirt of Sierra Leone capital.
It has turned markets to become mud sites especially those that lie on waterways.
Markets in swampy areas are the most affected by the rains. Waterloo biggest market is found in such an area.
The market is known by traders as Waterloo-Tombo.
Since Tombo community is close to Waterloo with just about 25 km between, the market has derived its name based on the two towns.
Business between the two major towns flourishes as Waterloo depends on Tombo for fish products.
The latter is a popular fishing ground in Sierra Leone withinin the Western Rural Urban.
Waterloo is a recepient of agricultural goods and fish that come from Tombo and the villages and towns beyond the Atlantic River, Senge town, Ribbi town, in Moyamba district.
But the market in Waterloo is too small now to accomodate traders and customers.
It used to host only small number of people doing business between 2002 when the civil war ended and 2005.
But, as population and communities grow, and expand, the market place has stretched beyond its limit.
Now, the old market is delapidated and dirty.
This area where the oldest market structure is built is called market square by residents. These are dwellers who have built around the market some make shifts houses over the years.
Usually, the rains in July and August affect traders and dwellers as floods happen at Tombo-market and on the market square.
Most petty traders would display their goods on stalls with stores and shops around during cloudbursts.
The rains often pour down heavily, thus forcing sellers and buyers to stay home.
Petty traders don’t sell at these times inside the old market.
The downpour usually disturb businesses to close down.
Friday and Saturday July 28-29 downpour caused petty traders to sorrowfully sit-by without selling.
Some sellers fled home early because the rainwater had caused serious floods in the market square.
”We are unable to remove our wares outside onto the stalls since it has been raining heavily,” complained, a woman trader at the Waterloo-Tombo market.
On Friday 28, July in morning hours the sky began to pour heavy rains.
It continued till the following day, Saturday.
Most traders with smaller businesses couldn’t put them on show as the market square along Newsite Street, in Waterloo, overflowed with rainwater.
The women and young men were seen constantly bailing out the rainwater from gutters which was pervading onto their stores.
They’d claimed district council officers don’t work enough to solve the problem of repeated floods in the market square.
This is the view shared by almost all the traders at Old Road Market square on Friday while it was raining cats and dogs.
The heavy downpour similarly caused many residents in Waterloo at the swampy settlements to be seriously affected.
On Friday and Saturday the heavy rains drove sellers out of the market place as their stalls and shops overflowed with water.
And the reactions of some market traders didn’t entirely favour the municipal council men.
”Look! everwhere, you can see the water overflowing our stores. City councils only collect market dues. But they do nothing for us here as traders,” says a young man who was filming the water with a woman’s phone.
That woman couldn’t tell us her name for fear of government reprisals.
”I shall help you with videos and pictures only. But I can’t risk telling you my real name,” she told me while looking at me with hesitation and suspicion.
Another woman seated close to her rebuffed again: ”Don’t allow him to video you. Look what had happened to Salamatu,”she said.
”Since she once talked on an interview with a journalist, she had been stopped selling at the area where she was occupying.”
The women’s denial to be interviewed almost explains everything about the relationship between journalists and their sources.
Since people face constant threats from sometimes government authorities or from those having strong influence with politicians.
The interviewees most times would decline themselves to be interviewed by journalists.
The fear by people or the idea of them not willing to talk on matters that affect their society does not only impede our duty as journalists to report accurate news for public consumption.
But, it also impedes progress and development on the life of the very citizen who snubs or refuses a worthy news information to a journalist.
Say, for example, if you are affected as a citizen by something in your community.
Then, how would you think that such a problem is resolved when you don’t make it known to the journalist for the public to know about it.
If government becomes aware of the problem in your community, it may respond to solving it or that problem may be solved by some development partners like NGOs, charitable organizations, etc.
And, at the end, that will be the change you may have impacted on your community and people by you willingly taking an action to reveal a pertinent information to a news reporter.
Now, on the situation in Waterloo, on the heavy downpour.
The hands are handcuffed of Chairman Kasho Holland-Cole, of Western Area Rural District Council.
He has begun what will become a lingering legacy on his leadership.
But the legacy lingers off the cliff as the brain behind it is held back by politics.
The new market started by Kasho stands to be his legacy and a good fortune for the people of Waterloo.
The opposition politician of the APC, through his office, has poured millions of money on the construction of a bigger market along the Old Road in Waterloo.
The market, if finished, is said to replace the Old market at the market square.
But, now, his party has decided not to participate in all government activities in the country.
All People’s Congres is refusing to accept the official electoral results of June 24, 2023 General elections, citing elections irrugularities and rigging tactics being masterminded by the sitting government.
The ruling government, Sierra Leone People’s Party is now running the Sate alone.
The sad status of affairs has put on hold several developments being undertaken by most opposition MPs, councillors, mayors and District chairmen and women across the country.
Those who were in the previous adminstration of President Julius Maada Bio as opposition politicians holding key positions in the State have now taken a back seat on the country’s development activities.
As all these happen, most communities in Sierra Leone are back pedalling on progress.
Waterloo in the Western Area Rural district is among the many communities in Sierra Leone that is being affected by the status quo between APC and SLPP.
While residents of Waterloo are crying for immediate help, Kasho Cole, is held back by the politicking of the country.
And, so, as a result, progress can’t go on the new market he has started long before the general elections in Sierra Leone.
Mr Cole might have eaten a huge chunk of money on the project to get a mega market for Waterloonians.
He may have told his peolpe ”many lies” in the past campaigns (2018-2023).
But one thing that stands tall for sure is that the politician would have been able to finish the market by now to save his name from the mouths of the people had he got the chance to sit at York Road.