It is now apparent that road projects in Sierra Leone have become a secret mafioso syndicate that is used by local contractors and certain state officials to scoop government funds with impunity, as they continue to construct substandard roads in the city, due to lack of proper monitoring by the relevant authorities. 

It is the expectation of every government that roads constructed and upgrade by contractors should withstand the weather and are of high standards, considering the quantum of money spent on them, but the Abacha Street construction work by a local company called Pavi fort, has fallen far below expectation.

Sickeningly, it is the inverse in Sierra Leone, as majority of the roads constructed by local contractors, including Pavifort, are currently depleted, with the road stretch around the Sani Abacha Street roundabout, constructed some 3 months ago, is now riddled with dangerous and life-threatening potholes.

Even without conducting a scientific test on the huge amount of dollar construction work done on the road prior to the rains, one can deduce from a layman’s point of view that the road was poorly constructed with substandard materials.

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The substandard work done by Pavi fort on this all-important thoroughfare, which helps to ease traffic congestion in the city, has evidently manifested itself, as the heavy down pour has caused extensive damage to the substandard road leaving a plethora of dangerous potholes.

Within a month, when the country experienced a heavy down pour, the small stretch of road constructed by Pavi fort around the Sani Abacha Street intersection, a densely populated area, has been completely damaged with the tar and asphalt completely eroded

However, Pavi fort has again been spotted on the scene doing some patch work on the already damaged road to salvage the situation.

Many residents in the city have condemned the company for what they described as a messy work done barely 3 months ago, costing huge sums of money. They maintained that the damage on the road is an indication of the substandard material used by the company on the road.

The questions now asked by many Sierra Leoneans are who’s going to bear the cost for such repair and whether the repairs will not be another messy job?

Notwithstanding, majority of the traders who ply their businesses along the vicinity have lost trust and confidence in the patched work undertaken by Pavi fort, as they fear it will be another washout,

This undiminished corrupt act by these contractors should be blamed on the failure of the Anti-Corruption Commission to thoroughly investigate some of the reasons responsible for these substandard work, as they believe it is not unconnected to kick-backs and commissions by certain state officials

Hence, it behooves the ACC to commence investigation into this flagrant corruption demonstrated by contractors in complicity with certain state officials to milk government funds at the detriment of the masses.

Concerned citizens are calling on the ACC to initiate an investigation into the activities of these companies and how the contracts were awarded, especially as similar contracts given to foreign contractors have been outstandingly done, referencing several roads in the city that had weathered the storm for decades, regardless of the volume of rain.