BY: Hassan Alimamy Kamara
Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA), Reverend Smart K. Senesie, has said the vehicle categorization and the introduction of new biometric drivers’ licences in 2020 and 2021 respectively, has seen the institution register thirteen thousand and seven (13,007) drivers within a year.
He said this on Thursday 13th October 2022, at the Ministry of Information and Communications weekly national press conference, Youyi Building Freetown.
He added that the institution is not subvented by government and the introduction of the new method has provided for sustainable revenue generation for the institution. In addition, to make the system accurate and credible the more, it is linked to the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) server, to ensure that driver’s licences are only obtainable by persons with verifiable National Identification Numbers (NIN) and those with their finger prints and photos in SLRSA data bank.
Reverend Senessie continued that the new system has helped in minimizing the proliferation of fake licences, which he said will reduce the theft of vehicles, crime rates on the highway and thus ensure for a correct and reliable system.
Continuing with the achievements of the institution, he mentioned that the printing of new driver’s licences and renewals have been decentralized to make them accessible at regional level, which will ensure that their operations are fully decentralized to match up with Government’s agenda. With this development, he assured that the number of licences to be issued will increase exponentially. The substations for such renewals are Pademba Road in Freetown West, Makeni in the North, Bo in the South and Kenema in the East.
Still with their achievements, he said in 2018 the Authority entered into a partnership with Autospect Sierra Leone Limited to enhance their operations in the area of vehicle fitness examination, issuance of vehicle licences, vehicle records (life card) and number plates. In that regard, he stated that Autospect has built and almost completed two ultra- modern vehicle fitness testing centers. The one is located at their Kissy Road office in Freetown and the other is at Mile 6, which he assured will soon be launched to commence operations.
Talking about the reason behind their achievements, he mentioned that they believe in a multi-sectoral approach to solving the challenges posed by the ever increasing volume of vehicles, motorists and pedestrians, as he said on themselves alone all the solutions are not available in ensuring the safety of life and property on the road. This is why they work with various stakeholders in the discharge of their mandates.
He added that the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) in the area of traffic laws and regulations, is key; while in the creation of road infrastructure and road furniture (markings and signages), the Sierra Leone Road Authority has been identified; including the Road Maintenance Fund Administration are all key in what they do. Going further, he said the local councils, the motor drivers union, trade unions, bike riders union and tricycle, are all important regarding their work.
Due to the daily occurrences of car crashes on the roads which have become a great challenge to address, Reverend Senesie said they have engaged with the Sierra Leone Insurance Commission and the insurance industry to ensure that modalities are put in place for the establishment of a Post-Crash Emergency Response Fund, which he said will serve for the construction of clinics, training, recruitment and deployment of paramedics along major highways across the country. He said this initiative when achieved will be in line with pillar five (5) of the United Nations (UN) decade of actions for road safety 2021- 2030 and the sustainable development goals.
