By: Foday Manneh
It’s a direct assault on a village’s efforts to light up its streets, and residents of the Sanunding community in the Tumana District of the Upper River Region are at their wit’s end as thieves rout lighting facilities worth over D185, 000.
Muhammed M. Drammeh, a village native who is the outgoing Secretary General of the Sanunding Kanbeng Kafo, says the recent criminal activities in the village are worrisome to their community as thieves continue to devastate valuable infrastructure.
“We are terrified – thieves are removing lights from most of our street poles and have attempted to remove all of them,” Drammeh said.
“They usually come at night when people are sleeping and go to the quietest areas to remove lights from the poles. It is really costly and frustrating for us.”
He told TAT that the community initiated the lighting project two years ago as part of a village-led organization to complement the government’s efforts by providing necessary services such as clean water, healthcare service delivery, and solar street lights, among others.
“We dug a borehole worth around D1.3M and bought an ambulance for the village clinic alongside providing street lights worth over D185,000 to address the issue of thefts and criminal activities at night because we are close to the border too.” He added.
Drammeh further highlighted that they have been devastated by the latest activities undertaken by the thieves in the village and called for public support to help find the culprits.
