By: Hassan Osman Kargbo
Why is it that Sierra Leonean always struggle for transportation whenever there is fuel crisis or artificial scarcities?
Why is it that people always suffer whenever there is a hike in fuel pump price?
Does that means Government through the appropriate agencies do not care about the welfare of the people they pretend to be serving or they can’t just handle the fuel crisis that the country is facing now? These are the unanswered questions that people are asking as they continue to struggle for the highly political commodity.
Fuel crisis has always had negative impacts on the livelihoods of the people. Be it private, public, formal or informal sector it touches everyone, as any hike comes along with ripple effects on prices of commodities everywhere in the country. Thus artificial scarcities being created by oil marketers due to the toll gate tariffs, which is slowly leading to an emerging hike in pump price should be urgently addressed by government through the line agencies before the situation goes out of hands at the detriments of the masses.
For the past two weeks or so, there had been enormous increment in the transportation fares which has led many people especially students to raised concerns over the increment on transportation unregulated charges. Recent hike of pump price of black market rates at NLE 45, are increasingly getting out of proportion as it force hundreds of people to track for long distance within the Freetown municipality and in other major cities within the country. The increment on fuel pump price has also led to escalating cost of living on a daily basis. Anytime there’s increment in pump price of petroleum products the people are bound to suffer the consequences especially residents from the East, and those from West of the city of Freetown.
In the morning hours, many cars and taxes drivers queue at different gas stations across Freetown and other municipalities waiting for fuel pump attendants, while some students and other commuters also queue at different junctions waiting for transportation that will take them to their various destinations. Fuel and transportation queues are sometimes long as the eyes can see it; some students are also making their journey to catch up lectures on foot which is disgusting in this day and age. After they had covered far distance and eventually arrived at their school premises, they will become exhausted and as a result some students’ performance may not be encouraging because of the long walk to school and other tertiary institutions. This is causing more suffering for the people, which Government really needs to step up to handle the situation with the utmost sense of urgency to save the masses from suffering.
Because of the increment in pump price of fuel price, citizens are forced to accept alternative which are life menace to their very welfare. Those who want to catch up with their various businesses early in town, or at their offices are left with little or no option but to use commercial motorbikes “okoda” to reach to their destinations on time. The okoda riders take advantage of the affliction of fuel pump price by charging exorbitant prices to ply just a kilometers road like from Wellington to Ferry Junction they could collect NLE30. This is seriously disheartening for citizens especially the common man that cannot afford it.
The artificial fuel crisis has also led citizens to express their dissatisfaction. FORUM NEW SL sought the views of citizens. Abu Sheriff, a shop owner at Back Street, in central Freetown, expressed positive notion about the said issue. People are in the habits of increasing the price or hide the fuel whenever they realized that there is slight shortage, but this is not a good act because a lot of people are facing series of pressure. Also, the Government needs to work closely with the Petroleum Regulatory Agency – PRA so that they can jointly solve this menace. “I think Government and the PRA should work hand and gloves to solve the fuel situation in the country. So I think if the hopes and aspirations of the people is to be realised, authorities concern need to expedite their work in ensuring the issue of transportation be the thing of the past in the country,” he empathized.
Also, along Model Junction, FORUM NEWS SL came across some set of students discussing the same transportation and the hike of fuel price and it effects towards the students on campus, Abdulai Tarawally, who’s a Third Year student at the Mass Communications Department said that the high price of fuel has coursed him sleepless nights. “I wake 5:00 am every morning to catch up early classes. Taxi drivers use to be soft with us. But, this present moment we pay NLE9 or sometimes NLE10 from Model Junction to Fourah Bay College campus and my parents can’t afford to give me that amount at all time”, he lamented. Another student, Saidu Manasary said that the hike on fuel price, increment on transportation fares is nothing good to write home about.
The Government really need to ensure that fuel stations do sell fuel directly to all consumers at reasonable prices, thereby curbing the exploitation practice of artificial scarcity of fuel if only they want to take the fuel crisis prize seriously.
