An astonishing display of policing…

An astonishing display of policing… on the streets of Freetown.

Freetown has always been a hustling, bustling centre of business, trading, money changing, congested traffic, vendors, public taxis, okadas (public motorbike-taxis), photographers, newspaper vendors, second-hand clothes (junx), etc. etc. It’s common to see street traders alongside wholesale and retail shops. It’s common to see photographers offering passport pictures (required for almost everything here) camped out in front of banks. It’s common to see Cmas cards, toys, radios, sunglasses, soaps, deodorant sprays, foods, locks, etc. etc. along the streets of downtown Freetown. And, at times you can find the strangest or most useful things… right on the streets and sidewalks of Freetown. Yes, it’s all a bit hectic and wonderful… till now.

During the elections, police and military personnel were everywhere… on the streets, the sidewalks and back alleys of Freetown. And, the police are back in force… standing along the streets and sidewalks of downtown Freetown and extending into the western and eastern areas. Their mission this time is different… they are there to remove and prevent street trading… and eliminate motorbike riders offering taxi services.

Apparently, Sierra Leoneans are “lawless and reckless”… and the government has committed, again, to eliminating street trading and motorcycle taxis in an attempt to curb lawlessness and recklessness. I don’t really see the connection… but…

The problem, which is so typical, is that these plans are not well thought out and offer no real solutions… and, in fact, they hurt the very people who help drive this country’s informal economy. Formal employment counts for less than 15% of all employment in this country… and the vast majority of the economy derives from these informal businesses or self-employed income. 

There have been previous attempts to limit street trading… between elections… that have failed because the market women comprise a significant number of registered and influential voters. And, the government’s efforts have not been sustained, I think for fear of reprisals at the polls. Well… the government has been elected, with the support of market traders and okada/motorbike riders… and now it’s time for sad retribution.

Street traders are mainly women… slightly older women… who bear the brunt of the responsibility of raising their families, paying school fees, tending to sick children, feeding relatives and compound dwellers, paying rent, tending to grannies and granpas, etc. They sell everything from junx to soaps, body creams, food items, clothing, second-hand toys/clothes/towels, sunglasses, kitchen gadgets, utensils, etc. In my opinion, they are the heart and soul of Freetown… and now they’re being punished and put out of business… because they trade/do business in the streets of Freetown.

I like buying things from street traders. It’s convenient… they’re there when I need soap, cassava leaf or notebooks. I’d rather spend my few Leones with them than the bigger shops, which are usually foreign-owned and operated. When I buy something from a woman on the street, I know she’s going to have food on her table that evening… and can possibly send her children to school by paying the school fees or the lesson charges proffered by the so-called professional teachers. BTW, teachers are often not paid or paid very, very little by the government. I’d rather buy my dozen shrimp from Musu on Kroo Town Road than in the grocery store… buying local supports the local economy. I’d rather buy my Dettol soap from Fatmata on Siaka Stevens St. than in the shops. I’d rather buy my fish from F.A. in the Aberdeen Market. I’d rather buy vegetables and fruit from Isha, a little girl who sells for her mother. In fact, I have friendly, neighbourly relationships with the women who sell on the street… and I like that.

The government’s rationale, apparently, is these same street traders block traffic, which they do. The rationale continues to accuse these street traders of littering and “messing” the streets, which they do. The street traders are a hazard to pedestrians, which they are sometimes. But I insist… they work hard, are responsible and are the heart and soul of the city. And, I want to support their efforts.

They also pay taxes everyday to Freetown City Council workers (or friends of friends) who go around collecting 500 or 1,000 Leones for selling on the streets. They contribute to the hustle and bustle of Freetown. They earn very little but manage to put food on their tables, send their children to school, support extended family members, etc.

So now… many of those same street traders have gone mobile. I saw Musu strolling along the street with a basket of shrimps on her head. I’ve bought soap from a young woman carrying a bowl. The man selling extension cords, cables and electrical supplies now carries his load. The street traders are now “head traders” doing business from the supplies they carry on top of their heads.

Okada men… the guys who ride the motorbikes that people use to zip around the city… are, in my opinion, essential to the transport system in Freetown… and certainly in the provinces of Sierra Leone. These guys have been banned from plying their trade in Freetown. Most of these bike riders are young men… some are ex-combatants… but most are unemployed and under-educated… but they are “trying” (as they say around here) to manage their lives… earning a small bit to feed their families and send their children to school. They are regularly victims of police extortion and their “masters” who own the motorbikes they rent on a daily basis. In fact, many of the motorbikes plying the streets are owned by police personnel or government officials… sometimes called, “big men”.

There are the “bad ones” who break the laws, ride without licences, zip up one-way streets, carry two passengers instead of one, don’t wear helmets, etc. In my opinion, those “bad ones” are few… No sense throwing out the whole basket of mangos when only one or two are spoiled. For the countless young men in Freetown, riding a motorbike allows them to earn a small bit… when there are no other “legal” alternatives available. Oh sure… they could rob and steal… or sell drugs but they’re sitting atop motorbikes for hours and hours whisking passengers through the congested streets of Freetown. It’s a very hard, tiring job… believe me, I know.

Today, as I rode my private, licenced and legal motorbike through town, I noticed increased tension and longer line-ups for transportation. When the bikes go… the demand for public taxis, buses and poda-podas (mini-vans outfitted with benches that can accommodate up to 20 passengers) increase dramatically. And those alternatives are just not readily available.

So here’s the thing… these two groups, who apparently supported the present government at the polls, are now being punished and put out of business. In my opinion, slightly older women and unemployed young men are vulnerable. Yet, someone has decided to put an end to their meagre attempts to make do… in a difficult situation under tough conditions. Also, there doesn’t seem to be any alternative to street trading… the government hasn’t provided more commercial space. The government hasn’t provided more buses or transportation alternatives.

Maybe one of the solutions is to pair these okada motorbikes and riders with the former street traders selling from baskets on their heads. We could call them “okada traders” and they could ply the back roads and alleys of Freetown without undo police harassment.