The President of Federation of Motorcycles and Tricycles Union (FOMTUL) of Liberia, Mr. John F. Kenyor has frowned at
lawmakers who he believes are involved with inciting violence between motorcyclists and the government.
Mr. Kenyor said that lawmakers have a role to play by helping to pro for bills that will help and enable cyclists to seek job opportunities when more companies come into the country.
He made these statements on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at a press conference and symbolic signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the no-go zone enforcement for motorcycles and tricycles held at the Liberia National Police (LNP) Headquarters in Monrovia.
The MOU was signed by the LNP and FOMTUL on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Monrovia. The LNP has been working collaboratively with the leadership of FOMTUL for the past weeks as a way of enhancing public safety and safety among motorcycle and tricycle riders as well as citizens and was able to reach one understanding and collaboration.
“I ran the bike for eight years. Do you think to run a bike is very easy; it is not an easy thing so, I know how painful it is and our prayer is that this government will see a reason to open an avenue wherein cyclists can get the opportunity that other incoming cyclists and those who have been there for long can transition. This is what we want to see but to see some of our lawmakers sitting on the motorcycles leaving their basic function to oversight lawmaking and representation and getting on the field to tell motorcyclists to give President Boakai a bitter Liberia. This is not about Boakai, it’s about the safety of this country. Development partners are coming into the country and the International Community is also watching how Liberians are going to maintain sanity in this country I strongly believe that everything in this country is about politicizing it is unacceptable. This is the reason why people are refusing to come and invest in this country,” he noted.
Mr. Kenyor called on the media to help the LNP and the FOMTUL in the process as well as lawmakers who are involved in inciting cyclists and putting them in the field (traffic).
The President of FOMTUL, Mr. John Kenyor speaking at the event emphasized that Liberia is not the only country that tries to put down restrictions. Mr. Kenyor said that the only thing is that the restriction shouldn’t be politized as such anything other than that he cannot be part of it but once it has to do with public safety he is in because it is their responsibility as a leader making sure that the society is kept safe because one life lost is one life lost to all.
According to him, at times as a leader, you will have to close your eyes and make decisions for the betterment of the majority, and this is what they are doing adding that “I was one of ECOWAS representatives to Ghana Elections and one of the leaders from South Africa asked me, John, we often hear that motorcyclists from Liberia are reckless and they are not respected of the law. It is shameful that people outside there will recognize us not as constructive contributors to the economy and the state but rather in the negative form”.
“How can we change the narrative is by the media helping us in the process. I Called on the media to take charge of the issues emphasizing that if Liberia will be safe investors will come and invest but if Liberians will politize everything. This is governance time, during elections, we had our way but this is governance time. When we are talking about public safety let us not politize it. I call on the journalists because we listen to several media outlets politizing this issue, don’t you think of the lives that have been lost? You are the same media people that were calling for this but you people are the ones now saying the government coming to take bread from the people’s table so than what you want now. We have to keep Liberia safe,” he emphasized.
He noted that FOMTU remains committed, resolute, uncompromising, and unbending in making sure that they have a safe society called Liberia where investors will come and invest and make Liberians be employed not just by riding a motorbike. “People shouldn’t just restrict us to riding motorbike. Thousands of us are university graduates and students but people are not recognizing that but only because we sit on a motorcycle nobody wants to respect us; it is unacceptable,” he said.
He also frowns on anyone who will reduce motorcyclist to such a level emphasizing that they are contributing immensely to the development of the state as such they are not taking bread from anybody’s table but the fact that through their negotiation with the LNP, there were other areas that they advocated that should be open to their people to run.
He said even in central Monrovia, they had some parking stations and access to cross various points, which the motorcyclists cannot tell us except they ride on the main route.
“We talk about training, so want of the things they are calling on other partners for support is that there will be massive and compulsory training on the road and public safety and the respect for the rule of law by all motorcyclist is in the MOU. Very soon they will introduce a code for motorcyclists as well as uniforms for every commercial motorcyclist to cut down criminal acts. We want to do the right thing and be on the safe side of history. We call on every motorcyclist and tricyclist rider that those of them who want to be against the law and don’t want to be restricted from the law will take its course. They will not tolerate anybody disrespecting the law under their watch as such they should continue to be peaceful as they continue to advocate for the cyclists and no one will take advantage of them especially when it reaches their desk,” he concluded.
For his part, the Deputy Inspector General for Operations of LNP, Col. Nelson Freeman speaking at a press conference on the MOU at the LNP Headquarters in Monrovia said that the conference marks the symbolic signing of a Memorandum of Understanding that was made and entered into on April 2, 2024, by and through the LNP and the merger Federation of Motorcycles and Tricycles Union of Liberia (FOMTUL).
Col. Freeman said that the MOU is geared towards enhancing public safety and ensuring the safety of motorcyclists and tricyclists. According to him, over the last months, the LNP embarked on a safety campaign to ensure a safety culture within the length and breadth of Liberia.
“Today is about the motorcyclists and tricyclists the next time people will hear and see the LNP probably with the truck drivers union and other stakeholders that are affected by the LNP work,” he said. Col. Freeman highlighted that the LNP intends to create a condition where drivers on the road will know when he needs to put on his lights and when he is bending.
“We also intend to ensure that school-going kids will know where and when to cross the streets, cross-walk as well as know the meaning of the different types of lights red, green, and blue means and even ourselves as adults, some of us who are not very much aware what the rules of the road are,” he added.
The LNP Deputy Inspector General for Operations added that with the signing of the MOU, they tried to get out the names of no-go zones cut them down to restricted areas and jointly agree to make the road from Freeport to Central Monrovia and all parts of town a restricted areas for motorcycles.
He indicated that they jointly agreed to consider ELWA Junction throughout Tubman Boulevard and the rest of Monrovia as a restricted area for motorcyclists.
Further speaking, Col. Freeman said the keke of three riders will have a little privilege and will be allowed to move from Freeport towards town through Clara Town and Via Town corridors emphasizing that they will not be allowed to use the New bridge but rather the old bridge to Waterside and will have access to all parts of Monrovia except Broad and Carey Streets as well as Keke from Jallah Town will come up on the By-pass and as far as Benson Street and go back to town and also use the UN Drive.
“The MOU also speaks to the penalty for violators. During the enforcement, there will always be people who will violate as such the President of FOMTUL has prevailed on the LNP.
From the initial stage of the MOU, we intended to close Somalia Drive to a major restricted area, and to make the Robert International Airport (RIA) Highway also a restricted area but due to his consistent plea, he asked us to give him the Somalia Drive and the RIA Highway. Concerning the number of motorcyclists and considering the livelihood issues that are associated with it we thought that it was prudent enough to do and it is against that background motorcyclists will be allowed to come from the RIA Highway and ELWA Junction towards Paynesville and also use the Somalia Drive to Freeport, Duala and the rest of Town,” he mentioned.
Col. Freeman noted that the cut-off point is from ELWA Junction and Freeport. He announced that the effective commencement date for the enforcement is May 15, 2024 as such they expect all citizens to be in full adherence to the law and remember that if they don’t get on these motorcycles the cyclists will not ride them. He at the same time encouraged the general public to be in adherence to the rule of law starting from May 15, 2024, as such they should not get on motorcycles in the no-go zone areas.
