Past and present CEOs have worked tirelessly to maintain and standardise operational sanity, in accordance to UN Road Safety Protocol and the West Africa Road Safety Organisation framework. Talks are ongoing between SLRSA boss, James Bio and his counterpart in Nigeria, Shehu Mohammed, to further strengthen this cooperation.
The Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority SLRSA, under the leadership of James Bio and the Federal Road Safety Corps in Nigeria FRSC, under Shehu Mohammed, are jointly on a mission to strengthen the long-standing, brotherly relationship between the two institutions that is today waxing stronger, to a higher height.
The SLRSA and the FRSC have together forged a strong bond, since the administrations of past.
CEOs of both entities, namely, Sara Bendu, David Panda Noah, Ibrahim Sannoh, Rev. Smart Senessie, James Bio and Osita Chidoka, Boboye Oyeyemi, Dauda Al Biu, Shehu Mohammed. All past and present Chief Executives have played significant roles in forging close and healthy relationships, through various visitations and the signing of Memoranda of Understanding MoUs.
During the era of Saah Bandu, a lot was achieved from FRSC in data collection training, infraction of biometric drivers licenses, road audits and personnel uniforms.
A delegation from Freetown met with a delegation in Abuja, that channelled a meeting with the then Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria, Boss Mustapha. The meeting was successful, with an accelerated approval given by Mustpha to Boboye to give SLRSA kits, like first aids, rain gears, ventilizer machines to test alcohol, with a promise by Mustapha to further strengthen collaboration.
Another delegation from Freetown, led by Ibrahim Sannoh met with FRSC Boss Boboye in Abuja. They met Boss Mustapha again.
This time, the team from SLRSA was taken to FRSC training college at Enugu. They were also taken to Lagos, with a MoU signed between Sannoh and Boboye.
Last year, at a conference in Guinea, this collaboration was re-visited and strengthened. FRSC decided that the three Mano River Union MRU countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea will jointly be formed as a focal point of collaboration, with an MoU signed for an International Road Assessment Program IRAP.
This was followed by a decision at Marrakesh, Morocco, to assist the three countries to achieve the UN Decade ofAction for Road Safety, 2021-2030.
These tremendous developments, SLRSA/FRSC collaboration, will snowball into a further expected visitation to Nigeria from Sierra Leone, to discuss the need assessments. This visitation will be followed by a return visit from Nigeria to Sierra Leone for capacity building.
So, the MOU idea was conceived in Conakry last year at the margins of the WARSO annual general meeting. The outcome of an FRSC/SLRSA meeting was a request for bilateral technical cooperation between the two distinct organisations. The Secretary for the Authority and Board, Abu-bakarr Sheriff Esq, was nominated as SLRSA liason with Lateef Ramoni being FRSC focal person.
Sheriff worked with relevant directors, including Augustine Kaitongi, Director of Safety and Enforcement, to develop the concept note, which was sent to FRSC, with the ministries of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Transport and Aviation put in copy.
Ramoni and Sheriff have been on back and forth for the concretisation of the cooperation agreement, including preparation for the ED and Corp Marshall to meet in Abuja for a formal signing ceremony.
A plan is underway, albeit not confirmed, for the Corps Marshall to make a reciprocal visit to Sierra Leone.
Currently, James Bio and Shehu Mohammed are poised to work together to achieve the objectives of the Africa Road Safety Observer Team and the West Africa Road Safety Observer Team, in line with the United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety. Bio is poised to meet Mohammed to continue the brotherly relationship between the two entities.
These are all geared toward minimising road accidents on the roads. Both SLRSA and FRSC are ready to work together to reduce crashes on the roads by engaging in capacity building, training of personnel, and support through operational equipment and logistics.
There has been a series of visitations by both entities’ personnel, geared toward forging a stronger relationship. The new Executive Director, SLRSA, James Bio, looks forward to a stronger relationship with his counterpart, Shehu Mohammed.
Speaking with the News Magazine, as part of SLRSA’s Independence message to the Government and People of Sierra Leone, as the country marks 64, James Bio revealed that he is passionately committed to working closely with FRSC boss, Shehu Mohammed, in further strengthening the cordial relationship between the two institutions.
SLRSA and FRSC have both jointly embarked on capacity-building measures, but with Ebola and COVID-19, these measures were on hold. They were revisited by past administrations, and the current management intends to continue.
The Bio-led administration currently at the SLRSA is poised to commence and sustain a strong working relationship with the Mohamed-led administration at FRSC in Nigeria, particularly in areas of capacity building, operational equipment, logistics and training of personnel.
What the past CEOs of both institutions have laid a foundation, James Bio is eager to fast-track in line with the United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety.
The SLRSA has worked out a new strategic plan to modernise the entity for improved road safety. “The strategic plan, 2021-2030, aims at resetting SLRSA as a corporate entity, embracing the principles of accountability, transparency, fairness responsibility and risk management, focusing on people, purpose, processes and performances, partnering with critical stakeholders, to achieve the targets of the SGDs and UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, 2021-2030.
The strategic plan also aims to enhance state-of-the-art act systems, to improve on road safety, through safe approach systems and effective multi-sectoral partnerships.
The overall objective of the plan is “to build an SLRSA that will generate more revenue to enhance road safety, establish post-crash response centres, and improve crash data collections and analysis for policy development.
SLRSA will introduce a mobile station consisting of a computerised system to speed up the processing of licensing of vehicles, kekes and motor bikes for accountability of the service to the people nationwide.
SLRSA will introduce First Aid Kits that will be given to accident victims on the spot before the arrival of ambulance services that will transport accident victims to the hospital
SLRSA will also introduce eye tests for licences to conform to fitness compliance procedures according to international best practices.
These measures are geared to enhance road safety nationwide, as safety is everybody’s business.