Covid-19 Leaves Dozens of Drivers Jobless

 

By Desmond Tunde-Coker

Abu bakar Kamara alias “Cover Me”, a driver in the east of Freetown, has said on Wednesday October 14, 2020 that, the outbreak of the Coronavirus has left him without job and without resources to maintain himself and his family. “I have seven children; recently, my wife left me because I am out of job. Now, I am finding it very difficult to take care of them,” he added.

Kamara explained that before the outbreak of the coronavirus, he was able to take care of himself and his family, but now he could not even pay his house rent.

He explained that when he worked as a commercial driver, he used to ply from Sierra Leone to Guinea, but when the borders were closed, he could not drive, adding that, after the closure of the borders, he started to run from Freetown to Kambia, but the huge sums of moneys that were being demanded as bribes by authorities manning the checkpoints made him unable to meet with his master’s conditions.

 “My master [vehicle owner] decided to stop his vehicle from working because we always ran into loss, and since that happened I have nowhere to get my living,” he lamented.

Kamara explained that he started driving in 1982, adding that he had never encountered a more difficult episode in his life, as compared to what he is facing now. He continued, “I have spent my entire life in driving. I have no other source of income besides it. I am 53 years now. I usually come to visit the park where some good friends give me handouts which I use to take care of myself and the children.”

Ibrahim Barrie, the Secretary General of the Motor Drivers and General Transport Workers Union at Peace Market, Ferry Junction in the east of Freetown, said that the border closure at height of COVID-19 has caused joblessness among drivers, putting their sustenance into Jeopardy.

Barrie said that the membership of the Union used to be 150 drivers, but since the closure of the borders only a few have remained.

He said that they used to ply from Sierra Leone to Guinea and back, adding that for over six months they had not been able to work, and that has affected them negatively and their families.

“We used to get our daily bread through plying from Freetown to Guinea, but since the borders were closed, we are finding it very difficult to survive and sustain our families. Some of our colleagues have left driving, and for some of us, we are still enduring the pain because we have no other means of earning a living. Over six months we are only living by God’s grace and some of our good friends who usually assist us,” he laments.

He said that they used to contribute to the Central Executive of the Motor Drivers Union which forms a portion of the development of the national revenue, citing that they had not been contributing anymore since the closure of the borders. “There are certain developments that we usually do as drivers’ union, but we are no more doing because we are not operating,” he said.

He said that the Union has been in existence for over 40 years.

Drivers have not benefited from the government stimulus package which was given to businesses whose activities were impacted by COVID-19.

In mid-May last year, 57% of workers reported that their employers had to temporarily lay them off  due to the wider economic decline caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to survey conducted by the Research and Planning Division of the Ministry of Finance.

Their findings captured the impacts of COVID-19 on businesses since Sierra Leone records its index case on March 31^st to July 2020.

The survey indicated that the restrictions instituted by government saw 11% of employers experience delay on their wages and the daily working hours decline to 4 - 6 hours during May when compared to 8 hours in March. Business hours also fall from 10 hours in March to 6-8 hours in May.

According to the findings of the Finance Ministry, the weekly income of businesses lowered in mid-May to 68% as reported by business owners and in May businesses experienced 60% dropped of average weekly profits. 

Note: This story was produced with support from Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), through its Mobilizing Media in the Fight Against COVID-19, in partnership with Sierra Leone Association of Journalists.