Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA), Reverend Smart Kelson Senesie, is poised to reduce road carnage in the tiny West African country by positioning the SLRSA, as a lead Road Safety Agency, to regulate and coordinate development in the road transport sector and promote road safety in the country, in accordance with the Road Safety Act, 1996 (as amended) and other Road Safety instruments.
The Executive Director, who was appointed by His Excellency President Retired Brigadier Dr. Julius Maada Bio in January 2022, has developed a National Road Safety Agenda to prevent and mitigate Road Traffic Accident and provide swift post-crash response to Accident Victims.
The strategic plan of the Executive Director is in line with the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety, the Sustainable Development Goals, ECOWAS Road Safety Charter and the African Road Safety Charter.
Reverend Senesie has commenced the operationalisation of his plan with the establishment of a Highway Management Unit at the strategic Northern town of Mile 91. The Unit will serve as operational hub to help prevent road accidents, mitigate the impact of accidents by providing emergency response and assistance to crash victims via an emergency toll free line and introduction of an ambulance service to convey accident victims. The initiative has so far received buy-in from the Sierra Leone Insurance Industry, Ministry of Health and Sanitation and National Emergency Medical Services.
The National Emergency Medical Service, a governmental agency established to handle emergency medical cases, recently boosted the ED’s highway management initiative with a donation of an ambulance. This effort will translate to reducing premature deaths and disability due to road traffic injuries.
Reduction in Fees for Motor Bike Riders’ Licence
In recognition of the critical role played by the Commercial Motor Bike Riders Union in the road transport sector, the Executive Director approved a significant reduction in the cost of commercial bike riders licence from NLe686.00 to Le 380.00 – more than half – to make it affordable to all riders and boost compliance rate among the legion of riders, many of whom find bike riding as an alternate livelihood source.
Autospect Vehicle Fitness Operations
Immediately following his appointment, the Executive Director was faced with the task of operationalising a Public-Private Partnership, PPP agreement between SLRSA and a company called Autospect Sierra Leone Limited. The Agreement signed in 2017 and reviewed in 2018, culminating into an addendum, stipulated high-end charges for mandatory vehicle fitness regime, securitised number plates, temporary vehicle registration and Radio-frequency Identification sticker.However, due to concerns raised by the public, the Executive Director championed a comprehensive reviewof and reduction in tariffs, in the best interest of the public.
The operation of Autospect has commenced since January 2023, following the construction of two state-of-the-art fitness centres at Mile 6 in the Western Rural District and Kissy Road at the SLRSA headquarters.
Completion of the SLRSA Ultra-Modern Headquarters at Africanus Road
The construction of a new headquarters, which has been ongoing since 2015 in a very slow pace, is almost nearing completion under the supervision of the Reverend Smart Senesie – led management.
Rebranding SLRSA to enhance Road Safety
Following his appointment as Executive Director, Reverend Senesie has embarked on rebranding the lead road safety agency. Having served as Chairman of the Road Maintenance Administration Fund, he arrived with a zest of a clergyman determined to spread the gospel of road safety and boost staff performance and productivity. Thus, less than two years since he took up office, SLRSA now issues drivers licences with a record turnaround time – two days! Road safety education has been taken to selected schools in the Western Area, with a view to establishing Road Safety Clubs and raising awareness about safety and security of road users.
Meanwhile, the digitisation process has steadily improved efficiency, while an overhaul of the management information system is bearing fruits by rooting out the proliferation of fake licences and vehicles number plates. According to Reverend Smart, he envisions SLRSA where every staff performs at best and are happy on the job and road users are safe and satisfied with the performance of the lead road safety agency.