“Imagine you buy bags of imported rice and transport them here and after selling them you realise that your profit is the empty bags. I am only selling because villagers across the surrounding villages depend on us for quality food items,” she complained.

Youth leader, Ali Amzalin Kanu, said the government had been responding to the call of the Port Loko people for infrastructural development, adding that the roads in the township were far better when compared to the years before 2008.

“I have been told that we will soon get electricity supply. However, I cannot identify any significant development under the stewardship of our member of parliament, but the Paramount Chief is really advocating for youth employment in the district”, Kanu said.

Councillor for Ward 168, who also doubles as deputy chairman of the Port Loko district council, Ibrahim Santigie Bangura, said majority of the people in the district were engaged in small businesses, farming and a significant number of the youths were engaged in commercial bike riding.

He agreed that employment issues were a challenge in both his ward and the entire district.  

“It is a fact that most of the youth are not gainfully employed. That is a challenge. When you talk of development the District Councils are established primarily to ensure that services delivered by the central government are happen at local levels. We only play an oversight role. We have some sectors that are involved in running the council and some of them are the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Water Resources,” Councillor Bangura added.

Regent Chief, John Bull Hamoud, said the government, through the ministry of energy, had promised to install hydroelectricity in the district and the president had already set that aside.