By Sheriff Mahmud Ismail
The National Petroleum Regulatory Authority has just announced yet another increase in fuel prices, effective 7 March 2026, with petrol and diesel now selling at NLe 32 per litre.
This latest increase cannot simply be blamed on tensions in the Middle East but, of course, the explanation travels the familiar road which Sierra Leoneans know all too well. Long before the first missile crossed a desert sky thousands of miles away, the meter here had already begun climbing, slowly, steadily, like a fever no one in authority seemed eager to treat.
In fact, several upward adjustments were made even during periods when global fuel prices were falling, the relief never found its way to our shores. Like rain that falls everywhere except the farmer’s field, global price drops simply evaporated before reaching Sierra Leonean pockets.
The sad reality is that instead of taking urgent steps to cushion the suffering of citizens, the government appears more interested in costly misplaced projects, such as the proposed international conference centre in Lungi.
Even worse, while ordinary people struggle daily to survive, successive Audit Service Sierra Leone reports and international corruption tracking assessments continue to highlight alarming levels of wastage, mismanagement, and corruption in public spending.
Fuel is the engine of every economy. When fuel prices rise, transport fares increase, food prices surge, and the cost of basic goods climbs sharply. The ripple effects are immediate and devastating. Therefore, what makes this moment particularly cruel is not necessarily the increase itself, with no safety nets, no meaningful relief measures, and no economic buffers, this latest increase will only deepen the hardship already gripping the nation.
Already, across the country, despair is becoming visible. Many young people, stripped of opportunity and hope, are increasingly turning to drug abuse and addiction as an escape from crushing economic realities.
Sadly, the Sierra Leonean people have become like passengers in a crowded poda poda climbing a steep hill, the engine coughing, the fuel running low, and the conductor still insisting there is room for one more burden.
The tragedy is not that the road is difficult. Nations everywhere face storms. The tragedy is that those steering the wheel seem curiously comfortable while the passengers keep paying for the fuel that drives them deeper into hardship.
The painful reality is that while citizens deserve leadership that understands their pain and acts to ease their burden, they have been forced to endure under the Sierra Leone People’s Party government that compounds their misery.