President
Kabbah, VP Berewa Inspect New Buses
By
Yusuf Alghali
Thousands
of regular public transport users and commuters
would be heaving some sigh of relief now that
seventeen city and intercity transport buses
have arrived Freetown awaiting commissioning.
The Sierra Leone Road Transport Corporation
(SLRTC) lost almost all of its once large fleet
of public buses during the massive destruction
of public vehicles that followed the rebel invasion
of Freetown in 1999. Their headquarters buildings
did not escape the onslaught as remains of burnt
buildings still stand as a reminder of the destruction
that was visited upon that once thriving corporation.
Early Thursday afternoon, President Ahmad Tejan
Kabbah, accompanied by Vice President Solomon
Berewa, visited the Sierra Leone Road Transport
Corporation (SLRTC) headquarters in the east-end
of Freetown, where they both inspected the fleet
of Iranian-manufactured buses, purchased under
a loan provided by the Islamic Development Bank
(IDB).
Greeted
by scores of cheering SLRTC staff members, President
Kabbah and Vice President Berewa 
waved
back to the jubilant workers as they boarded
one of the buses for a closer inspection of
the interior features.
Addressing the Chairman of the SLRTC, Mr. B.M.
Koroma, Vice President Berewa urged for a proper
and responsible use of the buses so that they
would be "of real service to the public"
and be managed prudently.
Chairman
Koroma expressed concern about the deplorable
state of some sections of the city and provincial
roads, but he received assurances from the Minister
of Transport and Communications, Dr. Prince
Harding, about plans to improve the condition
of the road
network to allow for a more durable and viable
use of the buses. The Minister who also spoke
of concrete arrangements for the procurement
of essential spare parts, indicated that four
Sierra Leonean technicians would shortly be
dispatched for training in Iran, so that Iranian
technicians currently looking after the buses
in Freetown could be sent back home.
According to the Iranian sales manager, Mr.
Sadeghi, who supplied the C35 Iran Khodro Diesel
vehicles, thirteen of the fifty-seater intercity
buses are fully air-conditioned and fitted with
a video and television set each. Another set
of four buses to be used mainly within the Freetown
capital city, can accommodate up to sixty seating
and fifty standing passengers.
-End-
