By: Dawda Baldeh
Lolly Sowe, the daughter of Pa Matarr Sowe, is demanding that the National Road Authority (NRA) compensate her father for the portion of land used in the construction of a road connecting their village to neighboring communities in the Central River Region North.
Her father owned land in Sambara village where he engaged in gardening activities and cultivated various trees, including cashew trees.
During the road construction demarcation in 2021, a significant portion of the land was affected.
“The NRA cut down many cashew trees and promised to compensate my father and others affected, but to date, nothing has been done,” she explained.
“The cashew trees were crucial for my father’s livelihood as he relied on the income to support the family. However, things have become increasingly difficult for him recently.
He is aging and lacks support,” she added.
Lolly criticized the NRA for showing no remorse or interest in compensating her father, stating, “I’ve been informed that the NRA has received funds to compensate my father and others.”
“Every time I contact or visit the NRA office, I’m continuously referred from one department to another.
I visited the accounts office, and they directed me to the records department, who, in turn, referred me back to the accounts office. This cycle repeats every time I inquire about the pending compensation,” she recounted.
Frustrated by the ongoing excuses from NRA officials regarding compensation, Lolly emphasized that her father cannot afford to wait any longer.
“This situation is painful and frustrating because my father has no means to support the family,” she lamented.
She revealed that her father, who is aging and gradually losing strength, has tasked her with following up with the NRA and urged them to expedite the compensation process.
Lolly informed The Fatu Network that they provided their account details for compensation, yet no action has been taken.
However, we were unable to obtain any comment from the National Road Authority at the time of publication.
We will share the NRA’s response once we are able to obtain comments from them.
