Bakary Badjie, national assembly member for Foni Bintang, has suggested better pay for police officers could stop them from accepting bribes from commercial drivers flouting traffic rules.

“The police should be paid a better salary so that they can do their job effectively. So much so that they will not be bribed by anybody. 

“But if they’re not well paid, they will take bribes and then even if the vehicles are overloaded they will just allow the vehicles to go. So, we need to motivate our police and pay them better salaries,” he told parliament.

“A serious penalty should be put in place for anyone who commits an accident. We need strong laws to govern us. 

“This year we’ve experienced serious accidents in the south bank road, especially in my constituency, very serious accidents.

“The first village where it happened, 11 people lost their lives, the other village three people lost their lives and the other Bajagarr two people lost them. 

“So, it’s alarming and the reason for this I believe is over-speeding at times. The drivers overspeed and the roads are not conducive. The roads are too tight,” he added.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba