Sewa News Stream

Still in Freetown and doing my stuff. As promised, I do have additional updates on what is happening in our nation's capital. Healthcare : The spate of deaths here in S/Leone is alarming to the outsider. We are losing more friends and relatives at a faster rate than we could make new ones. Yesterday, as I drove through Kissy Road between “Up-Gun turntable” and Savage Square, I noticed at least five funeral processions passed us on their way to the Kissy Road “berring gron”. Three of the corpses were evidently younger people who were probably no older than 30. People are getting so used to burying their dead that even the Okadas hardly pause for a second from their speeding, in respect of the dead. As I noticed several Columbia Davies vans ( they seem to have increased their fleet) transporting the hearse; the “business instinct” in me told me how profitable funeral parlors are increasingly becoming in this part of the world. Healthcare is no doubt the major contributor to u...

I have been in Freetown for two weeks working on my research project. For two weeks now folks and life has been very eventful. Here is a quick summary of my initial observation. Transportation : Movement from one place to the other by any means is extremely slow and difficult. For starters, there are no sidewalks. Therefore, vehicles, Okadas and pedestrians all share very narrow pot-holed roads and it is more dangerous to walk than ride a car or okada. Speaking of Okadas, the[y] are here to stay–annoying and marauding, they no doubt control this city. They are the preferred method of transportation for many Freetonians, and particularly popular among our young women running “quick missions”. Unfortunately, very little has been done by the central govt. to regulate and more importantly generate any serious tax revenue from this bustling revenue base. Communication : Perhaps if there is anything that needs serious government regulation and an overhaul – it is definitely this are...