07/29/2026
The Chief's Diary: Decongesting Ports - Together
Everyone knows that our port is our blessing - natural, deep, right in the center of town. At this point, it is also our challenge - it is small, deep in the center of town and growing business. This means that we are seeing 9,000 containers per month today when the average was about 2,000 at this same time last year. This increase is from growing economic activities in Sierra Leone and the sub region.
The effect? It's affecting prices and livelihoods. This is why I chaired a problem solving session today with our main partners on port decongestion. It will require all of us to adapt and change behaviors.
We will allow containers to exit at additional times.
We will allow foreign truck owners into the market.
We will reduce bureaucracy.
We will change regulations for banking hours.
We will modify fines and deterrent measures for poor behavior at the port and more.
We will do all this because we care about you - the ordinary citizens who are affected by these inefficiencies. That is why H.E President Bio asked that we look into and address these issues immediately. Together
David Moinina Sengeh - PhD
