By Joseph S. Margai in Freetown, Sierra Leone
Residents of Bonthe Sherbro Island are in danger of an imminent flooding and the locals have expressed fear that they may fall victim to massive flooding, due to the Sierra Leonean government’s negligence to reconstruct the collapsed sea-face-wall that contains the whip of sea water and wave from entering the municipality of Bonthe.
Bonthe Island, which is situated in Bonthe District, southern Sierra Leone, is 32 miles long and 15 miles wide, covering an average area of approximately 230 square miles with its western extremity been Cape Ann. It was once a citadel of political, educational and social activities, a melting pot of economic boom and the birth place of siblings of the colonial masters and great men and women of today.
Mayor of Bonthe Municipal Council Joe Layemin Sandi yesterday told Our Freetown Correspondent in an interview that since the sea-face-wall collapsed two years ago, he has made several appeals to both the central and local government officials to reconstruct to stop the water from the sea from entering the township, but his efforts have fallen on deaf ears.
He cited the recent flooding that occurred in Freetown on August 14, 2017 and predicted that if the government did nothing to save Bonthe Sherbro Island by reconstructing the collapsed sea-face-wall, the flooding in Freetown would be nothing to compare to the one that will take place in Bonthe.
Mayor Sandi recalled that early on Monday morning, on October 17, 2016, they saw the Bonthe market center and the main roads flooded, adding that it was flooded as a result of the water from the sea caused by the collapse of the sea-face-wall.
He pointed out that the cause of the flooding varies, but a major factor could be the general rise in the sea level due to the melting of ice at the poles and the lack of adequate drainage infrastructure in the municipality of Bonthe.
“The roads are also deplorable and contractors of First Tricon Construction Company, who started to construct the roads in the municipality two years ago, have abandoned the work without explaining the reasons to us. The potholes are left uncovered and drainages are left unconstructed, making them becoming deathtraps. Even though we have made several attempts to attract government’s attention to address our problems,” he explained.
He revealed that the islanders have voluntarily started to mine sand from the beach of the sea in order to start a temporal reconstruction exercise of the collapsed sea-face-wall because there is no move from the government to reconstruct it.
“We are mobilizing as a community to do a presentation to President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma about the deplorable conditions of the municipality of Bonthe. The presentation would mainly focus on two issues-the collapsed of the sea-face-wall which has a potential to cause flooding to the islanders, and the poor road network in the municipality,” he said.
