By Ragan M. Conteh

Many residents in Bonthe District have informed this medium that, because of the unending hardship and the skyrocketed prices of food commodities, they now depend on “tangagessy”, otherwise known as cassava, for survival.

The people of Bonthe District which is the home town of President Julius Maada Bio, are currently suffering as food becomes unavailable.

They are facing increasing poverty with the homes of vulnerable people affected most. That is those who don’t have other means of eking out a living other than cassava.

At Moriba town, Rutile community, many who spoke to this medium, have expressed clear dismay for the daily increase on prices of food commodities in the township.

A plate of food is sold now Le40 with only few who can afford to buy cookery. There are no jobs to get income and people starve daily.

A cup of rice is sold at Le 7 and the situation has resulted to many homes going hungry.

One Theresa Samai confided to this medium that Bonthe is still poor in spite of the huge revenue generation coming from that part of the country, and the fact that it is the home district of the first gentle man, Dr Julius Maada Bio.

Samai made a reference to the northern regions where former president Koroma was able to make huge progress and the people there are enjoying electricity, good roads and other basic amenities.

But, she adde, unlike Bonthe District roads are still terrible with no electricity supply.

“The president visits Bonthe frequently and would always drive on these bad roads but he’s doing nothing to address the vulnerability,” one Mustapha Kamara said.

Kamara shared his experience how vehicles spent several hours or a whole day within Rutile community before they could catch up the tarred roads to head to Freetown.

He called for the President to prioritize his birthplace by developing the communities.

“President Julius Maada Bio is our son, brother and above all he is our father now. He needs to make us happy.”

“Our farm produce get stocked by the roads especially in the rains now,” Kamara explained.

Other settlers in the rural settings also grumbled of having been left out on the development of the country.

And they talked of the high cost of living which has already added the predicament in their homes.

They said because of the bad roads prices on goods bought by people from the bigger towns are being tripped when sold in the villages.