….Is it ย all politics, politics , politicsย ?
ย
ย Some time last year , the Inspector General of Police , Brima Acha Kamara, ย declaredย an operation code named “Free Flow ” to get rid of traders from the main streets of Freetown and violators were arrested on a daily basis and charged to court for street tradingย .ย Manyย ย hadย their goods seized by police officers during the operation.
ย
Now, traders are back on the streets . They have come out in their large numbers to sell along Garrison, Rawdon, Abacha, Siaka Stevens streets on the grounds that they have been told by the Chairman of the Police Council , Vice President Solomon Berewa to trade onย the streets.
ย
Though police are always deployed at the PZ and other crowded areas at the commercial nerve center of Freetown, yet they donโt even attempt to arrest a single trader. Instead, traders have taken all over the city centres with flooded goods which have resulted to traffic congestion and pick-pocketing at places like PZ and Garrison Street.
ย
ย Victoria Park has also ย been given to the all business men and womenย but ย Mariama Sillah believes thatย since traders ย have not been used to selling ย goods at the parkย , ย if they take the risk of goingย there, ย customers will ignore them.
ย
Another street peddler along Kissy Road, Alimamy Fofanah , Friday told COCORIOKO that police is only allowing traders to sell on the streets because of want of their votes. Infact, this is the talk that has gained currency in the capitalย : That OPERATION FREE FLOWย has become a victim of politics and the forthcoming General Elections. Unconfirmed reports claim that the traders were allowed back on the streets byย the Sierra Leone Peoples Party SLPP presidential candidate, Vice President Solomon Berewa.
ย
When contacted by COCORIOKO, SLPP officials vehemently denied the allegations. They said that the SLPPย does not need to woo traders criminally for them to win the elections. They described the lawless traders as liars and people just capitalizing on the situation . But the SLPPย officials could not answe satisfactorily why the Police are not going after the traders robustly and vigorously like last year.
ย
As for some of the traders, ย Sallamatu Bangura atย Guard Street said โEvenย if the police ask us now ย to use State House and Parliament as markets some of us are not going to vote for the SLPP.They have disappointed us badly “.ย Another trader , Mayallie Kamara asked whether it is only now that the government wants to appease them. “It is too ย late,” she croned, craddling her baby and placing a breast into his hungry mouth. For their part, the SLPPย officials said that these traders are being used by certain politicians to stir up a conflict between them and the government.
ย
ย Up to the time of posting this article the Media and Public Relations Unit of the Sierra Leone could not be reached as their ย lines wereย not responding to ย calls.ย ย ย
Leave a Reply