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The Pujehun District office of the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority has become an unsafe and untenable working environment for its staff. According to multiple reports, the building housing the road safety office is in a state of severe disrepair, with the roof leaking extensively during the rainy season. This causes water to enter the main office and other work areas, creating hazardous conditions for the staff.
Compounding the problem, the damp and swampy environment has attracted snakes, including cobras, which have been regularly spotted inside the building. “The snakes take advantage of the cool, moist conditions, putting our safety at serious risk,” a staff stated.
Staff members have written numerous letters to higher authorities pleading for the issues to be addressed, but their calls for help have gone unanswered so far. “We’re doing our best to generate revenue and fulfill our duties, but our own security is not being guaranteed, especially during the rainy season when we lack proper rain gears and other necessary equipments,” another employee lamented.
The poor state of the office has also impacted the Authority’s ability to carry out its mandate. The annual national road safety day celebration, which involves the five key pillars of road safety, has had to be suspended in the Pujehun district due to the dire conditions.
Inhabitants of the Pujehun district are calling for immediate action to be taken to remedy the situation and provide a safe, functional workspace for the road safety staff. “These are the people responsible for ensuring our roads are safe, but they themselves are working in an unsafe environment” a local resident remarked.
The Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority has yet to issue a statement addressing the concerns raised about the Pujehun office. However, with the rainy season in full swing, the staff continue to brave the elements and potential dangers in order to serve the community.
Speaking to this press the chairman of the civil society platform Ibrahim Boguwa Swaray registered his disappointment over the present condition of the office, they are safety officers but they’re not safe and which is an irony he added. He therefore called on the authorities of the office to speedily come over to their aid because the issues affecting the Staff at the office are becoming unbearable every working day.
