By Gibao Brima

In a bid to create free movement of vehicles and pedestrians, police in Waterloo western area rural district under the able leadership of Superintendent Bankolay Mansaray and team has embarked on operation Push Bach” by clearing traders and make-shift structures from the streets in Waterloo. The operation started from the main busy business centre at Tombo junction, Kono Park and continues to Bassa town junction, Five Five junctions, Camp junction, Songo junction and Crossing.

Talking to locals about the ongoing operation, majority were blunt to cast blames on the Waterloo District Council for not doing enough to help traders move away from the streets, adding that the traders are contributing immensely to the council’s revenue generation on daily basis in paying market dues but that they are not getting any dividend for their contribution. “We do not know why the council continues to take our money from us,” the aggrieved traders stated in anger.  Dilating further, the traders said the so called market the Council is referring to as a market is actually not a market, revealing that are using the old tarmac road and an old fuel station belonging to a private businessman. They said whenever it rains their place of business is always over full of muds and water. “In fact, we do not even have toilet facility. That is the worst situation,” they added.

“On daily basis, we have to put our meager resources together to hire the services of the youths to clean up our business centre,” the traders further disclosed, noting that they cannot cast much blames on the police for their current predicament.

Talking further to Africa24 the traders appealed to the police for them to have a human face when executing their duties.

In a snap interview with the Local Unit Commander Superintendent Bankolay Mansaray, he said police are human beings, which is why he said before he and his men embarked on the operation, they carried out sensitization through public address system. “To be candid, most of the traders especially those engage in petty business believe that only when they do business in the streets they will be able to sell faster rate,” Superintendent Mansaray said, noting that the make-shift structures are an eyesore for any decent society. “And mind you Waterloo is an entrance point to Freetown, the capital city, so these types of structures are not good to be in these areas.

“We the police are working on Community policing because we need the community to carry out of duties but equally so we have to carry our functions, duties and responsibilities in a bid to make Sierra Leone a better place.