Freetown is bleeding. Its arteries -the very roads that connect communities, drive commerce, and symbolise national progress -are crumbling at a pace and scale that screams neglect. From the bustling streets of Kissy to the commercial heart of PZ and the congested junctions of Lumley, potholes have become the unwanted landmarks of our capital city. And at the heart of this creeping urban decay lies a failure that goes beyond negligence -a betrayal by the very institutions tasked with preserving our infrastructure: the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA) and the Road Maintenance Fund Administration (RMFA).
Freetown’s residents no longer commute; they navigate an obstacle course. With every rainstorm, potholes deepen into trenches, claiming shock absorbers, breaking axles, and injuring citizens. Private vehicles and several Taxis refuse to ply certain routes, tricycles tip dangerously, and ambulances are delayed, risking lives. School children and several pedestrians trek through mud right at the centre of Freetown.
This is not a natural disaster- it is a manmade catastrophe, engineered by silence, inertia, and bureaucratic failure.
President Julius Maada Bio’s vision of a modern, functional Sierra Leone- one driven by infrastructure, human capital development, and economic transformation -is being quietly sabotaged by some of these institutions.
While he champions international investment, transparency, and a new dawn for Sierra Leone, the SLRA and RMFA are dragging that vision through muddy ditches filled with broken promises to the public.
Despite allocations running into billions of Leones, there is little to show on the streets. Citizens are asking: Where is the money going? Why maintenance interventions are rare, poorly executed, or suspiciously delayed? And how can national pride grow when the capital city itself resembles a warzone of neglect?
The SLRA was established to plan, develop, and maintain roads across the country. The RMFA was created to fund those efforts. Yet both institutions have become synonymous with excuses and invisibility to maintain the country’s roads especially in the city . Annual budgets are passed. Road user charges are collected. But accountability? Absent.
There has been no comprehensive statement, no published action plan, and no visible emergency response, even as the rainy season exacerbates the crisis. Contractors work without oversight. Roads are patched without proper drainage. Entire communities are isolated as roads become rivers.
The current state of Freetown’s roads does not just inconvenience the public – it weaponises public frustration. Each unfilled pothole, each flooded street becomes a campaign poster for the opposition. Citizens are beginning to ask whether the government truly cares about development, or whether incompetence has become institutionalised.
President Bio must act – not tomorrow, but now. This is not a time for memos or committee meetings. It is time for bold, decisive leadership that holds the SLRA and RMFA accountable.
