By Saikujohn Barrie 22-09-2025 @17:50
As promised, I’m reflecting on my recent visit to Sierra Leone after being away for a decade.
Today, my focus is on the roads leading to my beloved Koinadugu and Falaba Districts.
Before I left Sierra Leone years ago, the road from Makeni to Kabala was tarred, allowing vehicles to travel with minimal complaints.
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But ten years later, instead of those responsible for ensuring regular road maintenance and proper repairs to their job effectively and efficiently, the Makeni–Kabala road has deteriorated into a stretch riddled with countless potholes. It’s now so bad that vehicles can barely reach speeds of 20 MPH.
I missed the welcome meeting my people had organized in Kabala partly due to the dangerously neglected road. They waited until late in the evening before dispersing. I arrived around 22:00.
Because of the road’s poor condition, many vehicles broke down. Low-clearance vehicles now find it extremely difficult to reach Kabala, as the journey often results in damage and significant delays.
However, after arriving in Kabala, I enjoyed a smooth and comfortable drive from Kabala Town to my hometown, Dogolonya.
I must applaud those who initiated road work and those who continue the road project since government is continuity.
I noticed the tarred road now extends beyond Dogolonya, with work progressing not far from Sinkunya Town. I traveled as far as Falaba Town, where the road is relatively decent.
Later, I visited Gbendi Town, where I met the Fula Tribal Head and other stakeholders, along with many villagers who had gathered to welcome me.
The road from Sinkunia to Gbendi is in poor condition—full of gaping potholes, dangerously slippery hills, and sharp stones jutting out like teeth.
Yet, it’s not as bad as the road from Dogolonya to Gbentu, the last Sierra Leonean town bordering Mamou in Guinea.
I couldn’t visit Gbentu because vehicles can hardly ply that road, especially during the rainy season. The people of Gbentu are deeply unhappy about the state of their road.
They told me that President Maada Bio and Vice President Dr. Juldeh Jalloh had promised to fix it during the 2018 elections. SLPP politicians repeated the same promise in 2023, yet nothing has been done.
Now, even motorbikes struggle to travel from Dogolonya to Gbentu. The road is a nightmare, and transport fares from Gbentu to Kabala are exorbitant.
According to some residents of Gbentu who spoke with me, the town and surrounding villages overwhelmingly voted for the ruling SLPP party in both 2018 and 2023. Yet no one has addressed the promises made to fix their road. They warned that the government should not wait until 2028 to send machines just to deceive them again. They vowed that such tactics would no longer work.
During my interactions with Gbentu descendants in Freetown and those who visited me in Dogolonya, I sensed their deep disappointment. Their road is nearly impassable.
I believe those responsible for fixing the roads—from Makeni to Kabala, Dogolonya to Gbentu, Sinkunia to Gbendi, and Sinkunia to Mongo—must not take the people of Koinadugu and Falaba Districts for granted.
They should not assume the people will accept another round of empty promises. The SLPP Politicians must not ignore the cries and persistent complaints of those who genuinely supported the SLPP in the past years.
Let no one claim these roads lack economic value.
In fact, if the road from Gbentu to Dogolonya were tarred, traders would once again enter Sierra Leone through Mamou, just as they did during the NPRC days when large Lorries laden with goods flowed in from Guinea.
Before I rest my case, I want to appeal to the Ministry of Works and the Government of Sierra Leone to urgently address the concerns of the people of Gbentu and the broader worries of those in Koinadugu and Falaba Districts regarding the dangerously bad road between Makeni and Kabala.
I rest my case.
