By Mohamed Kamara
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. David Panda-Noah has disclosed that to bring sanity in the transport sector that he will soon organized a national conference with stakeholders in the transport sector includingthe Sierra Leone Police Force, the Drivers’ Union, the Indigenous Transport Owners, Passenger Welfare to discuss among other things the lawlessness of drivers and traffic police officers.
Mr. Panda-Noah made this disclosure on Thursday 26th August 2021 at the usual government weekly Press Briefing, organized at the conference of the Ministry of Information and Communications.
Minister Panda-Noah said that the act of levied higher transport fares on passengers is illegal, adding that it has no place in the New Direction Government of His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio. He added that such act can lead to economic deprivation of innocent citizens. Minister Panda-Noah disclosed that the Ministry of Internal Affairs will equally impose tougher actions to any police officer caught aiding andabetting the process of extorting money from passengers. He went on to say that lawlessness among public transport drivers is not a new phenomenon, adding that his Ministry will soon restore sanity in the transport sector. He said that His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio is very much concern about the rights and privileges of every citizens. Minister Panda-Noah appealed to the affected citizens not to take the laws into their hands but to protest in a civilized manner for the attention of the relevant law enforcement officers to take appropriate actions. He warned against people covering their vehicle number plates without lawful authority, noting that such act has the propensity for criminals to commit havoc without being detected.
“It is prohibited for vehicle owners to cover their number plates without permission,” warned Minister Panda-Noah, adding that when caught they will be severely dealt with.
