Work Frustrations
Sierra Leone ranks dead last on the United Nations Human Development Index. The Fund for Peace has listed Sierra Leone as a failed state. Sierra Leone is suffering. Eight years after the war, the majority of the country still has no running water, mains electricity, access to healthcare, or education past primary school. Corruption is as rampant as it was during Siaka Stevens’ kleptocracy. Civil rights and consumer advocacy are alien concepts to all but the educated elite.
While the law stipulates that taxis can only carry 4 passengers, most taxis overload the car 7 or more. Taxi drivers who ferry passengers from Magburaka to Makeni will stop at the police checkpoint to have a “discussion” with the police. Money changes hands. The cars are run down, overloaded, and drive at breakneck speeds.
Looking at the this problem conservatively, if a taxi driver takes the 15 mile trip 12 times a day, charging each passenger Le 4000, fills up a 10 gallon gas tank at Le 14,500 per gallon, and pays the police Le 20,000 per round trip, at the end of the day the taxi driver will net Le 47,000 or little over $15 a day. (This is a assuming the driver will take at least one day off a week.) In Sierra Leone that seems like a lot, but if he has children in Junior Secondary or Senior Secondary, he responsible for the tuition of a minimum of Le 250,000 a year for each child. Vehicle maintenance, the healthcare of family members, food, clothing, and rent are all factor into a cost of living where the taxi driver either barely breaks even or lives in debt.
Car accidents is Sierra Leone are common, though slightly safer and cheaper than the motorbikes that zip down the dusty roads. The rules of the road are commonly agreed upon social norms not legally mandated or enforced. A driver will work for over 12 hours a day, although the actual trip only takes approximately 40 minutes, the driver will wait for the car to fill to “capacity” for several hours to justify the trip.
If the police didn’t demand a bribe, and the diver limited his load to four passengers, he would still make the same amount of money. The wear and tear would reduce from the overload of the vehicle. However, the police make around Le 150,000 a month ($48 dollars a month) less than the taxi driver that bribes them. The police officers have the same cost of living as the taxi driver.
There is also the institutional acceptance to the corruption. Officials who do not solicit and accept bribes are ostracized, inhibiting them from performing their jobs effectively. Many make a devils bargain to accept bribes in one area, to work proficiently in another. The result is the same. Hospitals are packed with the victims of the car and motorbike accidents. Locals do not trust their police force, and turn to more “traditional” ways seek retribution for a crime.
Nothing will change the culture of corruption in Sierra Leone except Sierra Leoneans. The Band-Aid solution of greater oversight or salary increase isn’t enough. Change will take generations of education and societal pressure on the institutions that support a society where anything can be bought for a price.
While the law stipulates that taxis can only carry 4 passengers, most taxis overload the car 7 or more. Taxi drivers who ferry passengers from Magburaka to Makeni will stop at the police checkpoint to have a “discussion” with the police. Money changes hands. The cars are run down, overloaded, and drive at breakneck speeds.
Looking at the this problem conservatively, if a taxi driver takes the 15 mile trip 12 times a day, charging each passenger Le 4000, fills up a 10 gallon gas tank at Le 14,500 per gallon, and pays the police Le 20,000 per round trip, at the end of the day the taxi driver will net Le 47,000 or little over $15 a day. (This is a assuming the driver will take at least one day off a week.) In Sierra Leone that seems like a lot, but if he has children in Junior Secondary or Senior Secondary, he responsible for the tuition of a minimum of Le 250,000 a year for each child. Vehicle maintenance, the healthcare of family members, food, clothing, and rent are all factor into a cost of living where the taxi driver either barely breaks even or lives in debt.
Car accidents is Sierra Leone are common, though slightly safer and cheaper than the motorbikes that zip down the dusty roads. The rules of the road are commonly agreed upon social norms not legally mandated or enforced. A driver will work for over 12 hours a day, although the actual trip only takes approximately 40 minutes, the driver will wait for the car to fill to “capacity” for several hours to justify the trip.
If the police didn’t demand a bribe, and the diver limited his load to four passengers, he would still make the same amount of money. The wear and tear would reduce from the overload of the vehicle. However, the police make around Le 150,000 a month ($48 dollars a month) less than the taxi driver that bribes them. The police officers have the same cost of living as the taxi driver.
There is also the institutional acceptance to the corruption. Officials who do not solicit and accept bribes are ostracized, inhibiting them from performing their jobs effectively. Many make a devils bargain to accept bribes in one area, to work proficiently in another. The result is the same. Hospitals are packed with the victims of the car and motorbike accidents. Locals do not trust their police force, and turn to more “traditional” ways seek retribution for a crime.
Nothing will change the culture of corruption in Sierra Leone except Sierra Leoneans. The Band-Aid solution of greater oversight or salary increase isn’t enough. Change will take generations of education and societal pressure on the institutions that support a society where anything can be bought for a price.