Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. Residents of Culvert Community are calling for urgent government intervention as G-TEX Company constructs a wall on a vital waterway, raising serious concerns about potential flooding during the rainy season.
Ezekiel Mohamed Rogers, a community representative, expressed alarm over the wall’s impact, stating that it has effectively blocked the waterway and forced it to rely on a single roadway. “One side of the wall is high while the other side is low. Once water from Kissy Brook Community and Bomeh Community meet, Culvert Community will face backflow. It doesn’t have the two flows it once had, and the water will return to the community, causing serious flooding as we are in the rainy season,” he said. “This is the worry we have in Culvert Community right now,” Rogers added.
The youth in the community allege that the construction of the fence by G-TEX was carried out without their knowledge or consultation, including that of Chief Ya Almammy Thoronka. When the chief and other community stakeholders approached the company with concerns about the potential flooding, they were informed that G-TEX had purchased the land from community members.
In response to inquiries about the identity of those who sold the land, the chief questioned, “You bought land in my community without passing through me?” This wall will endanger the lives of people in the Culvert Community,” she asserted.
G-TEX presented proof to Chief Ya Almammy Thoronka that they had indeed purchased the land where the wall was constructed. The situation escalated to violence in the community, prompting police to be called in with trucks to stop the unrest caused by the construction of the fence.
Further investigations by community stakeholders revealed that G-TEX and some local leaders had received funds related to the project. However, some stakeholders reported that they were misled; the company claimed they wanted to build a fence to secure their properties, not realising that it would be erected at a height that would block the waterway.
“The only solution to this situation is for the wall to be broken,” community members insist.
Culvert Community is one of the most densely populated areas in the Cline Town vicinity, making the need for a functional waterway even more critical. Residents are now urgently appealing to the Freetown City Council and the government for assistance in resolving this pressing issue.
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